Lot 131: DRUMMOND, ALEXANDER

DRUMMOND, ALEXANDER TRAVELS THROUGH DIFFERENT CITIES OF GERMANY, ITALY, GREECE, AND SEVERAL PARTS OF ASIA, AS FAR AS THE BANKS OF THE EUPHRATES. LONDON: W. STRAHAN FOR THE AUTHOR, 1754 First edition, folio (366 x 233mm.), folding engraved frontispiece, 34 plates and maps (many folding), contemporary half calf, [Atabey 363; Weber II, 524; Blackmer 497; Cobham-Jeffery p.16], some light browning, folding plates and maps strengthened, a few small tears

Drummond was British Consul at Aleppo between 1754 and 1756. The present work takes the form of a series of letters written during his travels in the Levant from 1744 until 1750 to his brother George, who engaged Tobias Smollett, at that time impecunious, to edit the letters for publication. The work includes a detailed description of Cyprus, with information about its antiquities and people, as well as the island's imports and exports.