Karl Baedeker was head of a successful publishing business, when in 1832 he acquired the publishing house of Franz Röhling which four years earlier had published a travel guide Rheinreise von Mainz bis Cöln: Ein Handbuch für Schnellreisende by Professor Klein. In 1831 Klein died and the guide went out of print. Tours along the Rhine were becoming increasingly popular and were for the first time not just the prerogative of the very wealthy. Recognising the beginnings of popular tourism, Baedeker decided to re-issue the guide book under his own name, adding some extra content.
Guidebooks up until this point tended to be lacking in practical information, however Baedeker realised that more information was now required and he also noticed in his bookshop travellers clutching small red books, ‘Murray Handbooks’. John Murray had started publishing his own guide books with ‘A Handbook for Travellers on the Continent’ in 1836 after realising previous travel books which were distinctly lacking in information.

John MURRAY. Continent. Handbook for the Continent: being a guide through Holland, Belgium, Prussia, and Northern Germany, and along the Rhine, from Holland to Switzerland. 1843.

Both Murray and Baedeker recognised the importance of information both descriptive and practical for the traveller. There are many similarities between the two series – both arranged their guidebooks along transport routes and eventually both used red cloth and the name ‘Handbooks’. The massive expansion of the railway network was another reason for the burgeoning of tourism which started in the 1830s. However there were also differences between the two, and Baedeker’s great success was due to his large amount of detailed information, excellent maps and his ‘star ratings’ contained in the pocket sized books.

John MURRAY. Switzerland. Handbook for Switzerland and the Alps of Savoy and Piedmont including the Protestant Valleys of the Waldenses. 1838.

One of the main elements of Baedeker’s success was the use of maps by Wagner & Debes who had premises close to Baedeker in Leipzig. Their maps were remarkable in their detail and quality. The Murray handbooks usually contained fewer maps, often just one folding map in a pocket at the rear, however they tended to contain more descriptive information and were easier to read. John Murray had a great reputation already as a literary publisher, and his guidebooks were often written by well-known authors such as Richard Ford, Edward Lane Poole and Augustus Hare.

Karl BAEDEKER. Allemagne. Le Rhin de Bale a Dusseldorf avec des excursions dans l'Alsace, le Palatinat rhenan, les vallees de la murg et du Neckar, la Bergstrasse l'Odenwald, le Taunus, les vallees de la Nahe, de la Lahn, de l'Ahr et de la Wupper et a Aix-la Chapelle. 1846.

As founders, Karl Baedeker and John Murray also contributed to their guide books in 1830’s and 40’s, and both were concerned with the accuracy of the content. Murray however did include adverts in his guides after the 1840’s whereas Baedeker only used adverts after World War I when the company began to suffer economically.
Railways began to spread across Europe after the mid 1830’s, with the first railways opening in Belgium and Bavaria in 1835 and in France in 1837. By 1850 Germany had over 3000 miles, France 2000 miles and Austria 1000 miles of track – England by comparison had 3000 miles by 1830. This meant that by 1850s previously out-of-reach areas were within the reach of the ordinary traveller who required detailed information, and the publication of guide books blossomed. Baedeker and Murray dominated this market and for many years were friendly with each other- with Baedeker only publishing in German and Murray dominating the English market even going so far to recommend one another. However rifts appeared after Baedeker decided to change his elaborate Biedermeier covers to a red cloth similar to Murray and the unwritten agreement was broken when in 1861 Baedeker decided to publish his first guidebook in English on the Rhine. The friends became rivals.

Karl BAEDEKER. Germany. Rhine from Switzerland to Holland.
The Black Forest, Vosges, Haardt, Odenwald, Taunus, Eifel, Seven Mountains, Nahe, Lahn, Moselle, Ahr, Wupper, and Ruhr. 1861.

Both series became very successful in the late nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century. In fact they became so powerful that any disparaging remark or comment could result in a town, hotel or inn losing its tourist trade. A prime example of this is the case of Howard versus Baedeker. There was a lawsuit brought by Howard (a hotel owner in Jaffa and Jerusalem) against Baedeker with reference to some disparaging remarks in the Palestine and Syria volume about his hotels. Howard won the lawsuit and Baedeker was ordered to remove the critical comments. However in the next edition Howard’s hotels were omitted and his business suffered greatly as a result.

John MURRAY. India. Handbook for India, Burma and Ceylon
including all British India, The Portuguese and French Possessions, and the Indian States. 1938.

John Murray’s series eventually covered the whole of Europe by the end of the century as did Baedeker’s. However Murray also extended beyond Europe and his titles included Japan, New Zealand and India. The Murray’s India was extremely successful and continued to be published into the late twentieth century. Baedeker however only published one edition on India in German in 1914, although he did publish several titles on the Middle-East with Egypt, Palestine and Syria. The Egypt 1929 edition is considered a Baedeker classic as it includes the discoveries of details of the recent Tutankhamen excavations (1922), as well as other important archaeological finds.

Karl BAEDEKER. Egypt and the Sudan. 1929.

Tourism was at its height between 1900 and 1914 and this was the most successful period for both travel publishers. Baedeker particularly dominated the market and many travellers would be seen wandering round the cities of Europe with a Baedeker in hand as characterised by Lucy Honeychurch in Room with a View. Another example being Graham Greene’s Stamboul Train which depends on the Baedeker Konstantinopel und Kleinasien published in 1914.

Karl BAEDEKER. Konstantinopel und Kleinasien, Balkanstaaten, Kleinasien archipel, Cypern. 1914.

World War I interrupted the growth of tourism and after the War Baedeker had to severely curtail its series, concentrating on German regional guides, as no-one could afford to travel - the home market became vital to the publishing house. These guides are rare as they were often issued in paperback and were not as sturdy as the pre-war guides in hard back cloth. Murray too reduced his production. Transport also changed as air services started in 1920s and were first mentioned in the Paris Baedeker of 1924 published for the Olympic Games. In 1930’s the mass-produced automobile arrived and Baedeker started to produce guides for touring with cars such as the Autoführer Deutsches Reich. There were often two versions of this title published; a) to club members with club insignia and the word ‘Clubausgabe’ on title page and b) copies to the general public without insignia etc. present.

Karl BAEDEKER. France. Paris and its Environs with routes from London to Paris. 1924.

Karl BAEDEKER. Deutschland. Deutsches Reich und Einige Grenzgebiete. 1936.

However following the Wall Street Crash in 1929 economic recession took its toll and travel started to decline, and World War II stopped almost all the publication of guides. Baedeker however did publish under the instructions of the Nazis various titles such as Generalgouvernementt (1943). This title describes those parts of occupied Poland that were not annexed by Greater Germany. The name of the Territory derived from the old name under Czarist Russia before World War I (‘General Governorate of Warsaw’) and used by the Germans during the 1914/18 War after they had captured the region from Russia.

Karl BAEDEKER. Deutschland. Generalgouvernement.1943.

World War II also saw the destruction of the Baedeker archive in Leipzig by the allies. Rumour has it that it was in revenge for the infamous Baedeker raids on the most picturesque cities such as Exeter, Coventry and Norwich. Both sides used Baedekers for their targeted bombing raids as they were invaluable for practical information.

During the 1950s and 1960s mass tourism flourished and there was a proliferation of various series of guides. Unfortunately despite re-grouping after the war Baedeker never fully recovered. Murray continued publishing guide books into 1980s and flourished as a travel book publisher. It was the last independent publisher in Britain before it was eventually sold to Hodder Headline who were eventually acquired by the French publisher Lagardère Group who owned their rivals Hachette. 

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