blue jeans forever letter

It’s blue jeans patent with Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis with a nod to Neil Diamond song that provides us today’s blog title of blue jeans forever letter.

Hearing Neil Diamond has me remembering my Dad who preferred wearing his Levi’s which he liked to call his dungarees.  My Dad had introduced me to Neil Diamonds music while he was in grad school typing drafts of his dissertation on his Olympia SM5 Typewriter.

blue jeans forever letter

You knew there had to be a letter somehow tied into Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis getting their patent, and there is!   

Here is a link to Letter To Levi Strauss from J.W.Davis on BenDavis.com website.

From Nevada magazine last August article “Jacob Davis and the Genes of our Jeans”:

 “Thus, without the $68 needed for yet another patent application, Jacob decided to write Levi Strauss & Company and ask the company to cover the expense in exchange for half the patent rights. In that letter to Levi Strauss, Jacob writes “if the patent is granted I am willing to go either to San Francisco or New York to manufacture or represent a factory.” Levi Strauss took him up on his offer and in April 1873, the Davis family moved to San Francisco where Jacob assumed a foreman’s position to oversee the manufacturing of riveted work pants.

The patent for “Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings” was granted on May 20, 1873 to Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss & Company. That was the beginning of what today is the lucrative business of selling jeans in every color and style imaginable.”

From The Great Idea Finder website – their article on “Fascinating facts about the invention of Blue Jeans by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873″ – I’ve included a few excerpts from their “Did You Know?” list:

  • “An original pair of Levi’s jeans is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
  • On May 20, 1873, Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss received patent #139,121 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • The red Tab Device was created in 1936 to help identify Levi’s® 501® jeans from a distance.
  • Rivets were first used on 501® jeans in 1873 because miners complained that their pockets ripped under the weight of ore samples. The early jeans had rivets on the front and back pockets.
  • Rear rivets were covered beginning in 1937 because of complaints that the rivets scratched school desk chairs and saddles. Since 1967, reinforced stitching has replaced the back pocket rivets.”   End of Excerpt

Neil Diamond – Forever in Blue Jeans

This 1979 recording is prior to my seeing him a few years later – when I was first out of college Neil Diamond came through Dallas on a concert tour and I recall getting to see him sing “Forever in Blue Jeans”.   He concluded the song by following it up with what I counted as 16 encores at the time – not kidding, at least that is the count it has grown to all these years later!

Thank you for joining me today for blue jeans forever letter !  Tomorrow is my Saturday blog post and here’s to a blue jean weekend! 
Anchors Aweigh,  

Helen


Attribution & Thank you to the following who are referenced today blue jeans forever letter

Letter To Levi Strauss from J.W.Davis on BenDavis.com website @bendavisco

Levi Strauss website  @LeviStraussCo 

Excerpt from Nevada Magazine: Jacob Davis and the Genes of our Jeans” – Jacob Davis, Reno’s Unsung Inventor, Creates a Fashion Legend –  Aug 25 2015 @Nevada_Magazine by Kathleen Paini Clemence

Excerpt from The Great Idea Finder website (ideafinder.com): “Fascinating facts about the invention of Blue Jeans by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873”  “Did You Know?” Section.

Neil Diamond   @NeilDiamond 

YouTube Neil Diamond “Forever in Blue Jeans” live 1979 San Francisco  posted by wk19781 published on Jun 11, 2014  “Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA – Live 1979”

 

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