Baedeker's guide books first appeared in 1827 and by the time this edition of 'London and its Environs' was published in 1900 they had earned a well deserved reputation for meticulous accuracy and encyclopaedic content. Each successive edition included up to the minute revisions obtained by an army of local agents, the accuracy of whose work was constantly checked by members of the Baedeker family who travelled incognito throughout Europe checking the facts and figures that appeared in their books. This book brings to life, in astonishing detail, a complete picture of all that a visitor might wish to know about the world's greatest city at the close of the Victorian era. In over 500 pages with a fold out map of London and the surrounding countryside, numerous plans of notable buildings and 31 pages of coloured street plans, not only are all the major sites and attractions mentioned, but there is copious advice on etiquette; Recommended Shops from drapers and hosiers to pianoforte manufactures and trunk makers; Markets. There is also a history of London. Visitors are guided on a dozen tours by steamer and train to London's environs such as The Crystal Palace, Windsor Castle and as far afield as Rochester and St Albans each being packed with directions, historical facts, travel arrangements and costs.