28 JANUARY 1949, Page 5

Baedeker would have been almost a forgotten name if the

Nazis had not kept it alive during the war by their raids on Bath and Exeter and other towns that could have had no importance for them except that they were mentioned in the Baedeker on England. To revive the famous series now seems a considerable undertaking. How can the Herr Baedeker of today get his information, with all the restrictions on travel under which he and his agents must labour? And who in any case will want his admirable guide-books now that what-used to be called tourisme is made so difficult ? Baedeker's Switzerland, I suppose, used to be the most famous of all—but the Swiss franc was not then at a premium on the dollar. The resuscitation of Baedeker, even in the early fifties, is magnificent, but is it business ?