Baedeker Baedeker Verlag Karl Baedeker, founded by Karl Baedeker on July 1, 1827, is a German publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred to simply as "Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to refer to similar works from other publishers, or travel guides in general), contain, among other things, maps and introductions; information about routes and travel facilities; and descriptions of noteworthy buildings, sights, attractions and museums, written by specialists. 1827−1859: Karl Baedeker (see article) had three sons, Ernst, Karl and Fritz and after his death each, in turn, dictated by events, took over the
Baedeker he published his first offering—10,000 copies of "Schleswig-Holstein". This was printed in Glückstadt near Hamburg and contained some advertising to balance the books, as did some of his other contemperaneous titles. Allen & Unwin, the London publisher, once again helped the Baedeker firm with another loan and he published more city and regional guides in the years that followed. In 1951, Karl Friedrich and Oskar Steinheil, a pre-war Baedeker editor, signed an agreement with Shell AG, the subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, and Kurt Mair (1902–1957), the German printer and publisher based in Stuttgart, to produce a series of motoring