Anne was born on March 25, 1906, in Brooklyn[note 1] to Rev.
When she was six months old her family moved to Baltimore where her father took the position of rector at Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
[1] She attended Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, graduating in 1924.
For the next several years she worked as a journalist for the Baltimore News, writing on a variety of topics including music, theater and art.
Anne Brown began collecting lead toy soldiers during the couple's year-long honeymoon trip to Europe in 1930.