Dana Brown Collection

The Dana Brown Collection contains original film and audio material, scripts, and correspondence, including Dana Brown’s letters to editors of various publications. Researchers will find a rich source of material in this collection about the cultural history of the mid-to-late-20th century. Brown also kept an environmental record of natural areas throughout Africa and Vietnam.

Dana Brown was born in West Virginia in 1905. The eleventh of twelve children, Brown left home as a teenager and traveled across America. Brown found work in a variety of manual labor jobs on the railroad and as a ranch hand before settling as a Fuller Brush salesman. By 1946 Brown was living in St. Louis and working for the General Grocer Co. In 1950, Manhattan Coffee was established as a division of General Grocer, and Dana Brown became linked with the product that would help earn his fortune.

As time went on, Brown incorporated footage from his journeys into commercials and nature films. The footage gave viewers a glimpse of amazing landscapes and animals and included a mention of Safari coffee. Manhattan Coffee was eventually bought by Nestle and Brown moved on to sell Safari coffee under his own coffee company.

Brown’s entrepreneurial success enabled his philanthropy and he gave a $10,000 gift to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis in 1985. The Dana Brown Charitable Trust, established October 21, 1994, at Brown’s passing, continues to pursue charitable works.