ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the conditions surrounding the universality of town directories, whilst at the same time drawing attention to the variety of directory types. Schwarzkopf’s aim was to highlight the relevance of the Adreßkalender to the field of political science. In most countries the first elements of the directory to evolve were the list of bureaucrats and institutions together with the alphabetical list of inhabitants and their addresses. In addition to the variations in the contents of town directories around a basic, common norm, it is also possible to recognise greater diversity in terms of spatial coverage. Thus, in Germany, the German-based ‘model’ of town directories was very much rooted to the town and its administrative boundaries. Therefore, in Germany and many north European countries it is usual to find one directory, one town.
