For travelers on the Grand Tour, Baedeker provided an educational resource. The guidebooks often contained essays by eminent professors intended to provide a short course on the art and culture of the country to be visited. Some contained detailed histories of well-known events, written by the publisher. The essays allow today's reader to share a part of the experience of the Grand Tour. They are an attempt to present a basic introduction to art and at the same time are period pieces of cultural writing.