Background
Nelson, James Carmer was born on November 10, 1921 in Denver, Colorado, United States. Son of James Carmer and Helen (McClelland) Nelson.
(A CLASSIC OF WESTERN NARRATIVE NON-FICTION This portrait ...)
A CLASSIC OF WESTERN NARRATIVE NON-FICTION This portrait of a gumball entrepreneur's life in 1950s America is a slice or retail business history and a funny freelance memoir all rolled into one. When James Nelson decides to move his family out West to California in 1952, he takes the leap into entrepreneurship by buying a slew of gumball machines. The ad guaranteed quick profits and easy money, but comic frustrations were what he got. Savvy modern readers will laugh at Nelson's charming naiveté while millennial freelancers will identify with his determination to keep on after endless setbacks. The gumball machine is an iconic symbol of 1950s Americana, and while the story chronicles Nelson's foibles with gumball entrepreneurship, it's the funny characters he meets along the way that are the true stars of this funny memoir. His larger-than-life descriptions of the characters of San Francisco and Sonoma county paint historic California as a fun scene—even for a man who makes his living one grubby penny at a time. A fun read for fans of humorous travel writing, Sonoma County or San Francisco narratives, or anyone wanting to get an insider view of start-up from the days before Silicon Valley.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615848060/?tag=2022091-20
Nelson, James Carmer was born on November 10, 1921 in Denver, Colorado, United States. Son of James Carmer and Helen (McClelland) Nelson.
Bachelor of Arts, Yale, 1943.
Marketing editor, Business Week magazine, New York City, 1946-1948;
illustration editor, Business Week magazine, 1948-1952;
freelance author, Sonoma, California, 1952-1957;
copy chief, Hoefer, Dieterich & Brown, Inc., San Francisco, 1957-1959;
vice president, creative director, Hoefer, Dieterich & Brown, Inc., 1959-1966;
executive vice president, Hoefer, Dieterich & Brown, Inc., 1966-1976;
president, Hoefer, Dieterich & Brown, Inc., 1976-1979;
vice chairman, Hoefer, Dieterich & Brown, Inc., 1979-1980;
partner, John H. Hoefer & Associations, since 1972;
vice chairman, Chiat/Day/Hoefer, 1980;
private advertising consultant, since 1980. Board directors McKinney, Inc., Philadelphia. Instructor Golden Gate College, San Francisco, 1958-1959.
Alternate member National Advertising Review Board, 1971-1975.
(A CLASSIC OF WESTERN NARRATIVE NON-FICTION This portrait ...)
(Hardcover with dust jacket, signed.)
Member Harold Brunn Society for Medical Research, Mount Zion Hospital, San Francisco. Board associate Linus Pauling Institute Science and Medicine, Palo Alto, California. Member Colony Foundation, New Haven.
Trustee Coro Foundation, 1965-1975, Marin Art Complex. Board of managers Marin County Young Men's Christian Association Served with United States Naval Reserve, 1942-1946. Member American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Married Mary-Armour Ransom, September 9, 1950. Children— James Carmer III, Marie-Louise Nelson Graves, Jeffrey Armour, Rebecca McClelland Nelson Sylla.