Publisher:
Leipzig: K. Baedeker; New York: C. Scribner's Sons
Published:
1904
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
13854738702
Shipping Options:
Standard Shipping: $4.62
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. 16mo. Red cloth. ciii, 660 p., [70] leaves of plates (28 folded): col. maps, plans; 16 cm. Clean, unmarked pages. Previous owner's name inscribed in ink to reverse of front cover. Front fold-out map of the Eastern United States included in three pieces, with tears, and extremely delicate paper. Back fold-out map of the Western United States has a few small tears, but still attached and in-tact. All other colored fold-out maps appear in excellent shape, without tears or excessive wear. Good binding. Negligible rubbing to cover. Gilt lettering on cover still bright. Numerous maps of various U.S. cities portray the prevalent use of the grid pattern in city planning. Also included is a plan of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ground and Upper Floors, and a map of the Yucatan Peninsula. Founded in 1827, Baedeker guides gained popularity during the second half of the 19th century (so much so that Baedekering became part of everyday language). They were an invaluable and essential part of "civilized travel" in the fin-de-siecle. Baedeker was known for both its accuracy and attention to detail. Included in each are intricate colored fold-out maps and floor plans. Baedeker's comments and recommendations open a fascinating window into the mores of a world now past. An interesting side note: Literary references to Baedeker's abound, from E. M. Forester’s A Room with a View to Mark Twain's A Tramp Abroad. T.E. Lawrence is reputed to have used Baedeker's guide to Palestine during his Doctoral work in the Levant and prompted his Allied superiors to make facsimile copies during WWI. During the Luftwaffe's Vergeltungsangriffe the guides were important enough to be reportedly cited by Gustav Braun von Stumm, that "We shall go out and bomb every building in Britain marked with three stars in the Baedeker Guide."[3] In the so-called "Baedeker Blitz" of 1942 the English cities of Exeter, Bath, Norwich, York, and Canterbury were bombed.
