The journal was founded by Hermann Paul and Wilhelm Braune in 1873; the first issue was published in 1874.

The official abbreviation for the journal "PBB" derives from the alternate, unofficial name for the journal Pauls und Braunes Beiträge (English Hermann Paul's and Wilhelm Braune's Contributions).

When the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was founded after World War II, the socialist government of the country nationalised the publishing house Max Niemeyer which was located in the East-German city of Halle an der Saale.

However, the Niemeyer family left the GDR and settled in Tübingen in West Germany, where they continued their publishing house.

Many university libraries, when binding the separate volumes together, used red covers for the series from Halle, symbolising the red colour of the socialists, and some other colour (often green) for the West-German series.