Prototype to 501 Levi’s invented in Reno

Thursday, Nov. 6, 1997 | 2:06 a.m.

A 100-year-old pair of 501s found in Colorado recently fetched $25,000 from Levi Strauss & Co., which bought them for its San Francisco museum.

But the prototype for the pants that became Levi's 501s was invented in Reno 127 years ago.

The first pair was made for a heavyset man last seen wearing them downtown before he disappeared.

That means the prototype jeans could turn up in some abandoned mine hillside or hideaway in the Reno area.

"I think they'd still be in good shape," said Jill Lynch, spokeswoman for Levi Strauss & Co.

Lynch couldn't estimate the value of the missing Reno link to Levi jeans.

Guy Rocha, Nevada state archivist, believes the long-lost pair of pants could fetch a far greater amount than the $25,000 pair found in an old Colorado mine.

The story of Reno's link to Levi Strauss & Co. - which today generates $7.1 billion in gross annual revenue, thanks largely to 501s - began in 1870. That's when a German-speaking Jew by the name of Jacob Davis emigrated from Europe to Nevada.

Davis was believed to have opened his tailor's shop at the site of what is now the Riverboat on North Virginia Street. The idea to secure jeans with rivets came when an unidentified woman asked Davis to make pants strong enough to fit her obese husband. Davis sold her the pants for $3.

Historic documents, books, magazine articles, National Archives records and research papers provide these clues for teasure hunters who might want to search for the prototype jeans:

-The riveted prototype jeans lacked a Levi's trademark or brand. The 39-year-old Davis hadn't yet cut a deal with Levi Strauss & Co. to use his unique rivet design. And the company hadn't developed its trademark red tag or its leather logo of two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of 501s.

-The pants were made of white or light-colored heavy material used to make tents. Davis had purchased the rugged cloth from Levi Strauss & Co., which in 1870 was a regional distributor of dry goods. The fabric was 10-ounce duck twill, a rugged cloth Davis had used to make wagon covers as well as tents.

-The name of the beefy man for whom the jeans were specially made remains unknown. Treasure hunters looking for his pants should think big. One account said his midsection measured 56 inches and his thighs 29 inches. Another account described the unidentified man as "a burly wood-cutter ... a man too big to obtain ready-made work clothes.'

-The woodcutter lived in what became downtown Reno, at an unspecified address. The man was last seen wearing the prototype Levi's shortly before he disappeared in 1870 or 1871. He could have dropped dead, been murdered or taken off for parts unknown.

-Historic accounts fail to describe the woodcutter's wife. Davis never saw the man before the purchase was made. The tailor asked the wife to use a string to measure her husband's inseam and waist.

Despite Levi's woes today, some traveling merchants dealing in used 501s buy old jeans from local residents. Many of these sales are made in local store parking lots, where merchants work out of trailers.

"I'm kind of overwhelmed with the whole blue jean thing," said Sharon Stefferud, owner of Katie Magoo's clothing store in Reno - which doesn't distribute new or used jeans.

Buyers worldwide take pride in the fact Levi's products are comfortable and durable, much of it made in the U.S. Stefferud said.

"And it all started here in Reno? That's something, isn't it."