Gousha

The H.M. Gousha Company was one of the three major producers of road maps and atlases in the United States during the golden age of auto travel, making maps for various Oil Companies and auto clubs. Gousha maps were widely considered superior for travel, due to their easy readability and extensive use of artwork and pictures to denote points of interest. The company also published a number of travel guides and other road-related books.

Brands under the Gousha imprint included Chek-Chart and Fastmap.

History

Harry Matthias Gousha, a sales executive for Rand McNally, left that company in 1926 to start his own map company out of Chicago, quickly becoming Rand McNally's chief competitor by offering the Touraide: a spiral-bound book with road maps, points of interest, and accommodations that was custom assembled for individual buyers. The company moved its headquarters to 2001 The Alameda in San Jose, California in 1947. H.M. Gousha Map Company was acquired by the Times Mirror Company in 1961, and then Simon & Schuster in 1987. Finally, the company was purchased by Rand McNally in 1996. Its production facility in Texas was closed and virtually all workers laid off. The Gousha artwork became part of the Rand McNally archive.

For many years the company placed a long bar or accent over the A ("Goushā" or "Goushá") to emphasize the correct pronunciation. The Gousha name is pronounced (goo-shay').

References

[http://www.newberry.org/smith/Mapline/96/96feature.html Mapline] - Collection of Gousha maps is donated to Chicago's Newberry Library