Posted on 03/29/2017 1:54:21 PM PDT by servo1969
They looked like brand-new blue jeans, but Jock Taylor knew those Levi's sat in an old family trunk for decades - maybe a century. Judging from their size (W: 44, L: 37) they probably belonged to his great-great grandfather Solomon Warner, an Arizona pioneer from the 1800s. If so, they're worth a small fortune, says Brit Eaton, a dealer in old jeans who actually searches abandoned mines for inventory.
"Vintage denim can be worth thousands of dollars," Eaton says. "Finding Levi's pre-1900 is a massive rarity. That's the Holy Grail."
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Auctioneer Daniel Buck Soules recalls Taylor approaching him.
"Why is he showing me new jeans?" Soules thought. Then he took a closer look.
The jeans had the familiar leather tag, adorning Levi's from 1886 until today. But the rivets were exposed, meaning they were older than 1937, when Levi's started covering them with denim.
More clues: suspender buttons indicated they were older than 1922, the first year for belt loops. The single back pocket proved they were older than 1901 - when the second appeared.
Soules dated them to 1893. He thought private buyers would pay dearly for the vintage jeans--or even Levi Strauss & Co. itself, which has bought back old jeans at high prices.
"The last pair of blue jeans that sold from the 1880s, it's my understanding, were purchased by Levi's for six figures," says Soules.
Taylor's jeans are not as old, but in much better shape - perhaps the oldest unworn pair of Levi's in existence.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
Are they pre-ripped for millennial convenience?
Cool!
I bet even after all these years its more durable than the crap Levis makes now.
Most old clothing is really small by today’s standards. 44 x 37 - ? ? ?
“(W: 44, L: 37)”
Those would be for a very large man. Especially rare in 1893 as the average man is not as big as today. I would imagine they did not sell or old Solomon was a very big man.
I wondered where I’d left those.
Another thought is that they were made large with the expectation that they would be tailored down to size of the buyer.
BOB DYLAN
“House Of The Risin’ Sun”
There is a house down in New Orleans they call the rising sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor girl and me, oh God, I’m one.
My mother was a tailor, she sewed these new blue jeans
My sweetheart was a gambler, Lord, down in New Orleans.
Now the only thing a gambler needs is a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time when he’s satisfied is when he’s on a drunk.
He fills his glasses up to the brim and he’ll pass the cards around
And the only pleasure he gets out of life is rambling from town to town.
Oh tell my baby sister not to do what I have done
But shun that house in New Orleans they call the rising sun.
Well with one foot on the platform and the other foot on the train
I’m going back to New Orleans to wear that ball and chain.
I’m going back to New Orleans, my race is almost run.
I’m going back to end my life down in the rising sun.
There is a house in New Orleans they call the rising sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor girl and me, oh God, I’m one.
is it red tab?
That’s one way to put it.
The other side is, most people are overweight, well-fed gluttons.
Maybe they were made for William Howard Taft?
Wow!
Six figures for blue jeans? As they say - there’s a sucker born every minute.
I remember buying button-fly Levis that were as stiff as boards. They would stand up by themselves if propped up against something.
You bought the waist a size or two too big and the length at least two sizes large. They had to be washed separately the first time or two because they bled dye.
They might have been bullet-proof the first couple weeks.
People hoarding jeans back then? Lol
Shrink to fit.
“I would imagine they did not sell...” You might be onto something there!
“Hey look Dad what they had for two bits at Sturdevant’s store! He said they’d been sitting on his shelf for two years - so he practically gave them to me!”
“Blankity - blank Mom - who’s going to wear them! Ya’ gonna make the mule wear them!?”
“You know how much fabric is here? I can make pillows, a vest for little John-John, doll clothes for Susie...why the list is endless!”
“Oh sure - in your spare time I suppose. Well I’m goin’ out on the back-forty, you best be tending to the garden and getting the eggs - it’s wash day too. And make me a sammich.”
Full disclaimer - I have a couple of old jeans with the knees blown out but the rest is pretty good that I’ve kept. Never know when one might need a piece of denim. (Now - where did I put those?)
Stories say he was 6’6”
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