Short answers, pulled from the story.
CRC Press is a publishing imprint specializing in technical books across engineering, science, mathematics, business, forensics, and information technology. It originated as the publishing arm of the Chemical Rubber Company, founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1903.
CRC Press was founded in 1903 by brothers Arthur, Leo, and Emanuel Friedman in Cleveland, Ohio. Arthur had begun the underlying enterprise in 1900 by selling rubber laboratory aprons to chemists.
The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is the flagship publication of CRC Press, descended from a 116-page promotional booklet called the Rubber Handbook that the company offered free with apron purchases in 1913. It has evolved over more than a century into a standard scientific reference work.
CRC Standard Mathematical Tables has sold over 2 million copies, making it one of the most widely distributed mathematics reference books in publishing history.
CRC Press is owned by Informa, a UK publisher. It operates as an imprint within Taylor & Francis, which Informa acquired in 2004. As of 2025, CRC Press is presented as part of the Routledge branding.
The company formally renamed itself CRC Press, Inc. in 1973, having decided in 1964 to focus exclusively on publishing. The manufacturing side was spun off as the Lab Apparatus Company at the same time.