On February 26, 1829, Levi Strauss was born in Bavaria. At the age of 18, he moved to the United States to run a dry goods store with his brothers in New York. During the California Gold Rush, Strauss traveled to San Francisco in 1854 to open a west coast branch to sell goods to gold miners. His business sold a variety of clothing items, including trousers made from canvas. Jacob W. Davis, one of Strauss’ customers and one of the inventors of riveted denim pants, went into business with Strauss

Happy birthday to the 31st State in the Union! On September 9, 1850, California became the 31st State. California was under the control of the U.S. military (it never was a formal U.S. territory) for two and a half years following the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in February 1848, which officially ended the Mexican-American War. The large influx in population during the beginning of the Gold Rush hastened California’s admittance to the Union. In honor of today, Howard printed a large halftone of