Aug 6, 20212 min read

Travels from the Past

Sometimes a book is more than just a book – it’s a piece of art, a source of information – or a portal to another place and time.

As early as I can remember I’ve loved maps. My father and I would sit together with an atlas and figure out how far places were from where we lived, and how long it would take us to get there.

Maybe it was the graphic nature and information design of the maps that drew me to them as a foreshadowing of my future profession. Or, they served as a portal to the travels I would take.

Baedeker’s guides from the 19th century were the first popular travel books and were famous for their comprehensive descriptions of cities and detailed, pull-out maps. There used to be a travel bookshop on Madison Avenue near 37th Street, The Complete Traveller Bookstore (now closed, but remains online and holds “The World's Largest Baedeker collection”). That was true of the brick-and-mortar store as well. The antique guides were behind the counter. Only the employees could touch them, but one could ask to be shown a volume or two – if a purchase seemed possible or imminent. I visited them often.

On my first trip to the UK in the early 1990s, I spent a lot of time seeing plays, but also tons of time in used bookstores. Through patience and a lot of digging, I found many Baedekers and other travel guides. Surprisingly, they were inexpensive. I came back with seven Baedekers, plus a couple of Muirhead’s blue guides and Ward Lock's red guides. My antique travel guide collection began. I would add to the collection periodically, but the jig was up on Baedekers when the gorgeous volumes were discovered and prices soared.

(Carefully) opening a Baedeker is a transportive adventure: The feel of the tactile, rich-red embossed covers, the detailed description of a place in a bygone age, and the vastness of the precise pull-out maps and plans. It’s almost like being there. And there’s the added mystery of each guide’s provenance.

I discovered that my guides have far more sentimental value than monetary value. That’s ok, because with them, I can go to the Italy of 1902, the Scottish Highlands of 1938 or the Egypt of 1914 at a moment’s notice.

Grab your virtual passport and enjoy. Click on the masonry images to expand them.