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National

Māori jeans historian buys Einstein's jacket

A Māori historian of world famous clothing brand Levi Strauss has won a bid for the sale of a brown leather jacket manufactured by Levi’s and owned by Albert Einstein.

Whilst on a vacation abroad, Tracey Panek, a historian for world-famous clothing brand Levi Strauss, found herself at Christies Auction in London.

An auction included the sale of a brown leather jacket manufactured by Levi’s and owned by Albert Einstein, the Nobel prize-winning scientist.

Panek says. “He was known to wear the jacket regularly and he was even illustrated wearing the jacket on the cover of Time Magazine”.

Sold to Panek on behalf of Levi Strauss for £110,500, the jacket was given directly from Einstein to the previous owner, a descendant, and was offered alongside Einstein’s pocket watch and building blocks from his childhood.

‘Albert smoked a pipe and you can still smell the scent of the pipe if you get very close,’ says Panek.

In an interview with Native Affairs, Panek revealed the jacket is kept in a fire-proof safe to protect it.  In 1906, the company lost the majority of its prized possessions and heirlooms due to the San Francisco earthquake.

She hopes that her passion for history can keep these artifacts and their stories alive for many generations to come.