This synopsis volume on the history of the development of commercial law is first and foremost a practical work. Legal texts, which are often inaccessible, are made available to a larger group of readers in this work. The synoptic presentation makes it possible to identify the existing continuity of commercial law institutions and brings to light the change of course carried out by lawmakers. A list of legal material available since the creation of the General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) as well as an exhaustive verification of German language commercial law literature of the 19th and 20th centuries ease the reader's introduction to the historical development of commercial law.