Cram, George Franklin

George Franklin Cram (1842-1928) was a leading 19th century American map publisher. Upon leaving the US Army after the end of the Civil War he joined his uncle Rufus Blanchard's Evanston map business in 1867. Two years later, he became sole proprietor of the firm and renamed it the George F. Cram Co. which became a leading map firm in the United States. The best known atlas began as The Standard Atlas of the United States which eventually was renamed the Unrivaled Family Atlas which ran for dozens of editions over many decades. His was one of the first American firms to publish a world atlas. His firm was instrumental in developing the cerography technique, in which metal printing plates were created by electroplating a wax engraved model; this greatly reduced the cost of producing maps.