# Blue Guides > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Blue_Guides > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Blue_Guides.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Guides > Source revision: 1337805697 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Travel guidebook series "Blue Guide" redirects here. For the European Union's Blue Guide to the EU product rules, see [CE marking § Rules underlying CE marking](/source/CE_marking#Rules_underlying_CE_marking). This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Blue Guides" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Blue Guides The 9th edition of Blue Guide London (1965) Parent company Somerset Books Founded 1918 Founders James and Findlay Muirhead Country of origin United Kingdom Headquarters location London Distribution Bertrams (UK) W. W. Norton & Company (US) Penguin Books (India)[1] Publication types Books Nonfiction topics Travel guides Official website www.blueguides.com The **Blue Guides** are a series of detailed [travel guidebooks](/source/Guide_book) focused on [art](/source/Art), [architecture](/source/Architecture), and (where relevant) [archaeology](/source/Archaeology) along with the history and context necessary to understand them. A modicum of practical travel information, with recommended restaurants and hotels, is also generally included. The first Blue Guide – *London and its Environs* – was published in 1918 by the Scottish brothers [James](/source/James_Fullarton_Muirhead) and [Findlay Muirhead](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Findlay_Muirhead&action=edit&redlink=1). The Muirheads had for many years been the English-language editors of the famous German *[Baedeker](/source/Baedeker_Guides)* series. When they also acquired the rights to [John Murray III](/source/John_Murray_III)’s famous travel “[handbooks](/source/Murray's_Handbooks_for_Travellers)” they established the Blue Guides as heir to the great 19th century guide book tradition. ## History ### Precursors In 1828, [Karl Baedeker](/source/Karl_Baedeker) (1801–59) published his first guidebook, *Rheinreise von Mainz bis Cöln* and in 1836 John Murray III’s (1808–92) first *Handbook* was released (*Handbook for Travellers on the Continent*). The first *Baedeker* in English, *The Rhine* (1861), was published jointly by Baedeker and Murray. These handbooks were to become the standard for English travellers for the remainder of the 19th Century. [James Muirhead](/source/James_Fullarton_Muirhead) (1853–1934) began working for Baedeker in 1878, preparing a *Handbook for Travellers to London*. Findlay Muirhead (1860–1935), graduate of the [University of Edinburgh](/source/University_of_Edinburgh), left his studies at [Leipzig](/source/Leipzig) in 1887 to join his brother at Baedeker. For almost the next 30 years the brothers were responsible for all English language *Baedekers*, including compiling guides to Britain, the US and Canada. Following the outbreak of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), the Muirhead brothers found themselves out of a job. They acquired the rights to Murray’s *Handbooks* in 1915 from the cartographical publisher [Edward Stanford](/source/Edward_Stanford), who had bought them 14 years earlier from [John Murray IV](/source/John_Murray_(publishing_house)). In the same year they established their company, [Muirhead’s Guide-books Limited](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Muirhead%E2%80%99s_Guide-books_Limited&action=edit&redlink=1). ### The Blue Guides and the *Guides Bleu* Main article: [Guide Bleu](/source/Guide_Bleu) A 1917 agreement with French publisher [Hachette](/source/Hachette_(publisher)) allowed co-publication in English and French of guidebooks under the names *Blue Guides* and *Guides Bleus*, respectively. Hachette’s existing *Guides Joannes* had blue covers, while *Baedeker*’s guides had red covers. The first Blue Guide, *Blue Guide London and its Environs*, was published in 1918. Two years later, Hachette published *Guide Bleu Londres et ses Environs*. The Hachette relationship with the Blue Guides ended in 1933. ### 1931-82 The 10th edition of Blue Guide Venice (2023) The Blue Guides were acquired by [Ernest Benn Limited](/source/Ernest_Benn_Limited) in 1931. (Litellus) Russell Muirhead (1896-1976), Findlay’s son, became the series editor in 1934. He retired in 1963, remaining a consulting editor until 1965 when the Muirhead family’s connection with the series ended. In 1963, [Stuart Rossiter](/source/Stuart_Rossiter) (1923-82) was appointed editor and in 1967 the first of Rossiter’s “scrupulously edited guides, compiled for the independent educated traveller wanting to avoid the monotony of international uniformity” (*Blue Guide Greece*) was compiled by Rossiter himself and published. *Blue Guide Rome and Environs*, by [Alta Macadam](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alta_Macadam&action=edit&redlink=1), was released in 1971. Her Italy titles thereafter become some of the best selling Blue Guides and included *Sicily* (1975), *Northern Italy* (1978), *Florence* (1982), *Venice* (1980), *Tuscany* (1993), and *Umbria* (1993), all frequently updated and re-issued. Other key Blue Guide authors are and have been [Ian Robertson](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ian_Robertson_(writer)&action=edit&redlink=1) (*Spain*, *Portugal*, *Ireland*, *Austria*, *Switzerland*, *Cyprus*, *France*, & *Paris and Versailles*), [John Tomes](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Tomes_(writer)&action=edit&redlink=1) (*Scotland*, *Wales*), [Ian Ousby](/source/Ian_Ousby) (*England*), [Paul Blanchard](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Blanchard_(travel_writer)&action=edit&redlink=1) (*Italy*). ### 1982 to present In 1982, [W.W. Norton](/source/W._W._Norton_%26_Company) of New York became the United States co-publisher, selling all Blue Guides in that country. Two years later, the Blue Guides were acquired by [A&C Black](/source/A%26C_Black) (Publishers) Limited, themselves later acquired by [Bloomsbury Publishing](/source/Bloomsbury_Publishing) Plc. In 2004, [Somerset Books](/source/Somerset_Books), a small, London-based, family-owned travel publisher known for its *Visible Cities* guides, acquired the Blue Guides. A year later, they published the first new title under the new ownership, *Blue Guide Northern Italy*. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Distribution - Blue Guides"](http://www.blueguides.com/about/distribution/). Retrieved 10 February 2018. - [*History of the Blue Guides* from the official website](https://www.blueguides.com/about/history-of-the-blue-guides/) ## External links - [Blue Guides official website](http://www.blueguides.com) - [List of all *Blue Guides* published since 1918](https://www.blueguides.com/about-our-titles/all-blue-guides-since-1918/) Authority control databases International VIAF National United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Blue Guides](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Guides) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Guides?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.