Walter de Gruyter Publishers present this book on the occasion of their 250th anniversary. It is a chronological account of how five publishers became a one company. The publisher Georg Reimer had close connections with Berlin University and the Prussian Academy of Sciences. G.J. Goschen'sche Verlagshandlung was one of the great publishers of classics, issuing the first complete authorized edition of Goethe's works and also publishing the scholarly paperback series "Sammlung Goschen". Veit & Comp. issued scientific-medical books, such as "Dornbluth", precursor of the famous "Pschyrembel". I. Guttentag was one of the leading law publishers, whose name is still remembered in the series "Sammlung Guttentag". The publisher Karl I. Trubner's strengths were linguistics and the classics. "Kluges Etymologisches Worterbuch" is still one of Walter de Gruyter's flagships. In accordance with the 20th century entrepreneurial spirit Walter de Gruyter merged these publishers in 1919.