ABSTRACT
At the age of eleven, James Casey began to support his family as a delivery boy after his father died. As a teenager, he cofounded the American Messenger Co., a communication and delivery service, with friend Claude Ryan. Casey and Ryan believed in building their business on professionalism, courtesy, and service, sleeping in the office so they could deliver service 24/7, including holidays. By 1915 the Seattle-based company had expanded its delivery fleet to four cars and five motorcycles, which Casey wanted to paint yellow. However, one of his partners insisted that yellow vehicles would be impossible to keep clean, and noted that Pullman railroad cars were painted brown for that reason. Casey's partner won out, and today, “What Can Brown Do for You?” is a well-known advertising tagline.
