Oregon, (1884)

Oregon, (1884)

Washington (State)--Boundaries<br>Oregon--Maps<br>Rand McNally Co.<br>Cerography<br>Electrotyping<br>Morse, Richard Cary<br>Munson, Henry A.

1 map: col., 34 x 29 cm.<br>"Population 174,768"<br>"Area, square Miles 94,560"<br>George F. Cram, a Union soldier who fought in Sherman's Army during the Civil War, returned home in 1867 to Evanston, Illinois to begin a map and atlas company with his uncle, Rufus Blanchard. By 1875, Cram owned his own publishing company in Chicago and soon rose to success by using a wax engraving process (similar to that perfected by the Rand McNally Company, his greatest competitor). Invented in 1834 by Richard Cary Morse and Henry A. Munson, the wax engraving process--also known as "cerography"--was not patented until 1848. This allowed for many engravers to perfect their own version of the method. Among them was the Rand McNally Co., which began printing maps in 1872, using a combination of Morse's wax process and electrotyping.<br>Invented in Russia, 1839 by a German named Jacobi, electrotyping took wax engraving one step further by coating the surface with a substance such as graphite (electrically conductive) and then submerging it all into an electrolytic bath and copper coating. When ready, the wax was then removed and the copper plate became the template for printing. While of less quality than lithography, it also cost less. By the 1890s most American publishing houses used this wax process.<br>Cram retired in 1921, selling out to the National Map Company. In 1928, the company returned to the Cram name and it has continued in business to this day.

Cram, George Franklin, 1841-1928

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, WSU Libraries

[Chicago: Geo F. Cram, 1884]

1884

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections

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English

Maps

WSU 15

United States--Oregon