2023-05-20 07:13:50
UIt is conspicuously located there: Buttenheim, a village of 3800 inhabitants on the B 73 between Nuremberg and Bamberg. Likewise the museum, which is hidden in a pretty half-timbered house, which is common in this area.
But then he can be seen: Levi Strauss, the father of all blue jeans, born here in Franconia in 1829. As a life-size bronze figure, he shows the way to the house where he was born. It now houses the Levi Strauss Museum, which is celebrating an anniversary these days: 150 years ago, on May 20, 1873, the patent for jeans was registered – by Buttenheim resident Löb Strauss, later known as Levi Strauss.
His place of birth and the museum honor him with a special exhibition and a birthday party mile (see information below). After all, his pants are among the greatest icons in fashion history.
Source: Infographic WORLD
Old original copies are coveted collector’s items, and buyers will pay a fortune for them. A pair of Levi’s jeans from the 1880s is said to have fetched a six-figure sum in 2005, and in 2022 the Wall Street Journal reported that a similarly aged model sold for $76,000.
Levi Strauss’s family emigrated to the United States
In the Buttenheim Museum, visitors immerse themselves in the American dream of the simple Jewish peddler’s son who became a wealthy textile manufacturer in the States. During the audio tour of the permanent exhibition, a narrator and Levi Strauss himself accompany the guests through its exciting history.
The ground floor, once the home of the Strauss family, is about the life and dreams of the Franconian country boy up to his emigration. The house where he was born dates back to 1643 and has housed the Levi Strauss Museum since 2000.
The Levi Strauss Museum in Buttenheim is located in the birthplace of Löb Strauss
Those: pa/dpa/Daniel Vogl
“Due to economic hardship, the family emigrated to the USA in 1848,” says museum director Tanja Roppelt. In 1853 his brothers sent him to the gold-mining town of San Francisco, where he founded his company Levi Strauss & Co. – a wholesaler of clothing for miners and pioneers. By then he already had American citizenship, had Americanized his first name and changed the “ß” in his last name to an “ss”.
His coup was hard-wearing blue work trousers made of coarse cotton fabric with metal rivets, which he patented in 1873 together with the tailor Jacob Davis. Blue jeans were born, even if the name didn’t catch on until around 1920.
The portrait shows Levi Strauss around 1850. At that time he already had American citizenship and had Americanized his name
Quelle: Getty Images/Fotosearch
The robust trousers were first assigned the number 501 in 1890 – probably also to make orders easier, according to the manufacturer. “The number goes back to the rivets, which were registered under number 501,” explains the museum director. A true-to-life replica of the 501 jeans from 1890 can now be bought by fans in Levi’s online shop for just under 365 euros.
The museum in Buttenheim shows the triumph of Levi’s
Cowboys and workers loved the indestructible pants, Levi Strauss died in 1902 as a wealthy entrepreneur, and his family continued the business. Later, when Levi’s became a registered trademark, the first women’s jeans came onto the market.
An old advertising sign for Levi’s Jeans in the Levi Strauss Museum
Source: pa/Press-Image-Poss/Uta Poss
Hollywood stars like James Dean and Marlon Brando turned the work outfit into a fashion icon. Marilyn Monroe exuded sex appeal in tight skinny jeans, and the indigo blue pants were soon in great demand in Europe too.
British teenagers even stormed the docks at overseas ports to buy jeans from American merchant mariners right at the pier. The 501 advertising slogan of that time was: “Separates the men from the boys” – distinguishes men from boys.
Around 1882 in California: miners in pants from Levi Strauss & Co.
Quelle: Getty Images/Fotosearch
Other fashion hits can also be admired in the museum, the first floor of which is entirely dedicated to jeans and their triumphal march. In the 1960s, the Levi’s 551 became popular. “I also sat in the bathtub with jeans and brushed until I couldn’t anymore,” says one visitor. “The tub was full. The jeans had to be skin-tight and look used. My girlfriend even used a pair of pliers to get the zipper closed. Her 551 was that tight.”
Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe also liked wearing Levi’s jeans
Quelle: Getty Images/Archive Photos
501, 502, 511 or 551 – behind these numbers there are not only the differently cut Levi’s models, but almost a declaration of faith. If you are a committed 501 wearer, you might buy another 551, but definitely not a Wrangler, Mustang, Lee or any other brand.
Jeans as a symbol of freedom, youth, individuality
The top floor deals with these questions of faith – the cultural significance of jeans and their role as a trend item of clothing: jeans as a symbol of freedom, youth, individuality and a casual lifestyle. These pants accompanied the women’s movement, the gay rights movement, various youth cultures and the American civil rights movement.
In the Eastern bloc, they were seen as a political statement against the communist regime. GDR writer Ulrich Plenzdorf wrote in his novel “The New Sorrows of Young W.”: “Jeans are an attitude and not trousers.” The young Franconian Löb Strauss would probably never have dreamed of all this.
The museum in Buttenheim features a replica of the oldest Levi’s jeans found in the Nevada desert
Those: pa/dpa/Gambarini Maurizio
“It’s interesting that the people of Buttenheim didn’t know anything about their famous son for a long time,” explains the museum director. “It was only an inquiry from the USA that brought to light that Levi Strauss was born in the inconspicuous Buttenheim.” In 1983, a lady from Milwaukee contacted the then Mayor of Buttenheim because she German Fest Information needed about Levi Strauss birthplace.
A busy search began. Research in the birth register of the Buttenheim Jewish community and an emigration document from the Bamberg State Archive finally proved: Levi Strauss comes from Buttenheim. At the same time, it turned out that the birthplace of the jeans inventor still existed.
The municipal council decided to purchase the listed half-timbered house, which is one of the oldest buildings in the town. The idea of dedicating a museum to the world of indigo and denim was implemented. Since then, Buttenheim has rightly celebrated the legendary garment that fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent said: “I wish I had invented it.”
Tips and information:
The 150th anniversary of the patent application for jeans will be celebrated in Buttenheim on May 20th and 21st, 2023. From Saturday 3 p.m. to Sunday 3 p.m. there is a party mile in front of the Levi Strauss Museum with live music, food and drink. The museum is also showing the special exhibition “Greatest Story Ever Worn – 150 Years of Jeans”, which runs until February 2024 (levi-strauss-museum.deopen Tuesday and Thursday 2pm-6pm, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 11am-5pm).
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