Jacob Davis was a talented young tailor in the late 1800's. He was a frequent buyer from Levis Strauss & Co.'s wholesale house. One particular customer kept purchasing the cloth to reinforce torn parts. This gave Davis the idea to use copper rivets to strengthen the points of strain, like on the base of the button fly and the pocket corners. Realising he did not have enough money to purchase a patent, he wrote to Levi and told him of his tailoring skills and what he had been doing with the parts he had bought. Levi was impressed and soon after they went into business together on May 20 1873. The two men received patent #139,121 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patented rivet was later incorporated into the company's jean design and advertisements.
