The Indiana State Library has an interesting collection, there is no doubt. It has recently gotten all the more interesting by the generous donation of William Douthit.  The donation consists of atlases and globes made by the George F. Cram Company.  Cram was a long standing Indianapolis company.  It has occupied manufacturing and office space at many locations in the city: 32 East Georgia Street, 730 East Washington Street, and 301 South LaSalle St.

The Cram Company was established in Evanston, Illinois in 1867, as Blanchard & Cram. In 1921 George F. Cram retired and sold his company, merging it with the National Map Company.  The Cram name endured and they moved to Indianapolis.

The Douthit family owned and ran the George F Cram Company since 1966 when Loren Douthit became president of the company. Loren Douthit began working at Cram in 1937.  Pictured below are William, Loren, and John Douthit.  William, pictured left, worked at the George F.  Cram Company for 43 years, becoming CEO and Chairman of the Board in 1996.

Under Douthit leadership the Cram Company specialized in educational map products and globes. Included in this donation are globes, company catalogs, and many interesting atlases.  Let’s take a look at some of the items…

Cram Globes:

The Black Ocean Globe (circa 1960), illuminated

Cram Imperial 12” Antique Globe, circa 1971, mounted on wood base to house an atlas

Cram Blue Physical – Political Sun Ray Globe, “tuffy” globe ball, with sun ray and calendar base to tell time and seasons world-wide, circa 1972

Cram Catalogs: This donation has added new Cram company catalogs to the Indiana State Library trade catalog collection.  Manufacturing and product catalogs are a great resource for collectors and company researchers.  We are always accepting donations of catalogs from Hoosier manufactures, so keep us in mind as you run across such items!

Special editions highlighting the company’s longevity and progress: