CRC Press
CRC Press began not with books but with rubber aprons. In 1900, Arthur Friedman started selling rubber laboratory aprons to chemists, and by 1903 he and his brothers Leo and Emanuel had built that modest trade into a formal publishing operation in Cleveland, Ohio, calling it the Chemical Rubber Company. The leap from protective clothing to reference literature was not accidental. Chemists needed supplies, and they also needed information. The Friedmans understood both needs at once.
The company grew by adding laboratory equipment to its catalog, widening its customer base among working scientists. Then, in 1913, the Chemical Rubber Company did something that would reshape the business permanently. It printed a short manual of 116 pages called the Rubber Handbook and offered it free to any customer who bought a dozen aprons. That promotional booklet, given away as a purchasing incentive, would eventually become one of the most consulted scientific reference works in the world.
The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is the direct descendant of that 116-page Rubber Handbook from 1913. What began as a giveaway booklet evolved over decades into the flagship publication of the entire press. Its survival and expansion reflect how fundamental the need for reliable, consolidated scientific data proved to be across the twentieth century.
Another reference handbook from the same stable, CRC Standard Mathematical Tables, reached sales of over 2 million copies. That figure places it among the most widely distributed mathematics reference books ever published. Both titles illustrate the press's core strategy: produce authoritative, dense reference works that professionals and students return to repeatedly rather than read once.
By 1964, the Chemical Rubber Company recognized that its publishing arm had outgrown its manufacturing roots. The company made a deliberate choice to concentrate on books and information rather than physical laboratory goods. The transition took nearly a decade to complete formally. In 1973 the company renamed itself CRC Press, Inc., dropping the Chemical Rubber identity that had defined it for seventy years.
The manufacturing side did not simply close. It was separated out and relaunched as the Lab Apparatus Company, allowing the physical-goods business to continue under its own direction while CRC pursued an exclusively publishing identity. That clean break positioned CRC to expand beyond chemistry into engineering, science, mathematics, business, forensics, and information technology.
In 1986, CRC Press was acquired by the Times Mirror Company, placing it under the ownership of a large media conglomerate. The relationship lasted a decade before Times Mirror began exploring a sale. In 1996 those discussions concluded with an announcement in December: CRC would be sold to Information Ventures.
That arrangement proved to be a transition rather than a destination. In 2003, CRC became part of Taylor & Francis. Taylor & Francis itself was absorbed the following year into the UK publisher Informa. Each ownership change moved CRC into an increasingly large academic publishing network, though the imprint name survived each transfer intact.
Within the Taylor & Francis portfolio, CRC Press occupies a specific and significant role. Taylor & Francis identifies the CRC Press and Routledge imprints as key components of its academic publishing operation, pairing a science and technology specialist with a humanities and social sciences specialist under the same parent.
By 2025, CRC Press's branding had shifted further, presenting the imprint as part of the Routledge branding umbrella. That alignment reflects how Informa has chosen to organize its academic publishing assets, grouping imprints by audience and function rather than keeping them as fully independent brands. The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, still in print after more than a century, remains one of the most visible titles carrying that heritage forward.
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Common questions
What is CRC Press and what subjects does it publish?
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.
Who founded CRC Press and when was it established?
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.
What is the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics?
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.
How many copies has CRC Standard Mathematical Tables sold?
CRC Standard Mathematical Tables has sold over 2 million copies, making it one of the most widely distributed mathematics reference books in publishing history.
Who owns CRC Press today?
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.
When did CRC Press change its name from the Chemical Rubber Company?
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.