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Guide to the Andreas Brown Collection MS 270
MS 270  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Processing Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Biographical / Historical Notes
  • Scope and Content
  • Separated Materials
  • Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
  • Arrangement
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition

  • Title: Andreas Brown Collection
    Identifier/Call Number: MS 270
    Contributing Institution: San Diego History Center Document Collection
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 5.5 Linear feet (9 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1683-1984
    Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English and Spanish.
    Abstract: The collection is comprised of San Diego related materials collected by Andreas Brown, a San Diego native and one-time owner of Gotham Book Mart in New York City.
    creator: Brown, Andreas

    Processing Information

    Collection processed by Lauren Rasmussen on May 21, 2012.
    Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

    Preferred Citation

    Andreas Brown Collection, MS 270, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

    Conditions Governing Access

    This collection is open for research.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

    Biographical / Historical Notes

    Andreas Brown grew up in Coronado, San Diego. He graduated from Hoover High School in 1951and then earned a degree in economics from San Diego State University. After graduating, he pursued law school at Stanford University, but quickly abandoned the idea after a brief stint with the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps. After returning to San Diego where he taught speech at SDSU for 3 years, he moved to San Francisco, where he started working as an appraiser for rare books and manuscripts.
    Brown frequently visited New York on business, and became a regular at Gotham Book Mart and friends with the bookstore’s owner, Frances Steloff. Steloff later sold the store to Brown in 1967. Brown went on to run the Gotham Book Mart until it closed in 2007. Throughout his tenure there, Brown collected a large variety of materials related to his hometown, much of which he passed on to San Diego Historical Society.

    Scope and Content

    The collection consists primarily of ephemera related to San Diego history, events, people, and organizations, but also includes original documents, including correspondence. There are maps related to specific San Diego neighborhoods, like Coronado, and advertisements for prominent businesses. Administrative materials regarding San Diego city departments are present, as are documents about transportation, including the San Diego Trolley and the major San Diego railways. There are also publications and announcements of local school activities.
    A large portion of the collection relates to tourist information, especially the two major exhibitions held in San Diego: the Panama-California Exposition (1916-1916) and the California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936). Other tourism materials include guidebooks, travel maps, and pamphlets about local attractions, including the San Diego Zoo.
    Of particular interest are original documents Brown collected, including an 1846 inventory of the San Diego Mission and a copy of a 17th century map of California by famous map maker Alain Manesson Mallet.

    Separated Materials

    Map of Rancho San Vicente (1869) previously separated to Map Collection.
    Items separted to the Object Collection:
    Golden Hill pharmacy bottle
    San Diego transit token
    San Diego Exposition (1935) souvenir penny
    San Diego Gas & Electric pin
    San Diego Exposition (1935) pendent
    San Diego Gas & Electric lighter
    Point Loma lighthouse necklace
    2 San Diego Gas & Electric pens
    La Jolla souvenir spoon
    Tijuana, Mexico souvenir spoon
    “S.D.A.C.” spoon
    San Diego pennant
    12 souvenir matchbooks
    Panama souvenir coin
    2 San Diego Exposition (1935) spoons
    Lindbergh commemorative coin
    20 souvenir matchbooks

    Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

    Some paper documents are fragile. (May 3, 2012)

    Arrangement

    The collection is arranged into eight series:
    Series I: San Diego City and County
    Series II: Business
    Series III: Transportation
    Series IV: Tourism
    Series V: Schools
    Series VI: Organizations and Activities
    Series VII: Literature, Music, and Entertainment
    Series VIII: Original Documents
    Items in each series are arranged by subject.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Accession numbers 840519A, 860703B, 870113A, 880329A, 900724, 910612, 971201, 980909a-h.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Alvarado, Francisco Maria
    Arguello, Santiago
    California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936 : San Diego, Calif.).
    Conair, Inc..
    Estudillo, Jose Antonio
    Harbison, J. S. (John S.)
    Hotel del Coronado (Coronado, Calif.).
    Jackson, Helen Hunt, 1830-1885
    Jacobs-Bond, Carrie, 1862-1946
    Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974
    Marston's Department Store.
    Martin, Fernando, Father
    Panama-California Exposition (1915 : San Diego, Calif.).
    Panama-California International Exposition (1916 : San Diego, Calif.).
    Pumphrey, Margaret B. (Margaret Blanche), b. 1872
    Remondino, Peter Charles, 1846-1926
    San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company.
    San Diego Electric Railway.
    San Diego Mission.
    San Diego State College.
    San Diego Trolley.
    San Diego Zoo.
    Sanborn, S. S.
    Theosophical Society in America.
    Tingley, Katherine Augusta Westcott, 1847-1929
    Wright, Allen Henry
    Zoological Society of San Diego.
    Advertising
    Associations, institutions, etc.
    Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.)
    California -- Maps
    Clubs
    Coronado (Calif.)
    Correspondence
    El Cajon (Calif.)
    Escondido (Calif.)
    La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.)
    Maps
    Poetry
    Point Loma (San Diego, Calif.)
    Postcards
    Ramona (Calif.)
    San Diego (Calif.)
    Sheet music
    Tourism
    Tourist maps