The AA was founded in 1905 as a body intially intended to help motorists avoid police speed traps. In 1910 they published the first AA routes with handwritten details, and by 1929 they were issuing 239,000 routes a year.
Since the 1990's the AA has dramatically expanded it's publishing activities producing atlases, maps and travel guides. AA Publishing is the UK's biggest travel publisher and one of the top ten worldwide.