Lithgow's nineteen years travels through the most eminent places in the habitable world. Containing an exact description of the customs, laws, religion, policies, and government of emperors, kings, and princes; also of the countries and cities, trades, rivers, and commerce in all places through which he travell’d. Also an account of the tortures he suffered under the Spanish Inquisition, by racking, and other inhumane usages, for his owning the Protestant religion. Together, with his miraculous deliverance from the cruelties of the papists, which far exceeded any of the heathen countries

William Lithgow

London : J. Millet, for M. Wotton at the three Daggers in Fleet-street, G. Conyers in Little-Britain, and T. Passinger at the Three Bibles and Star on London-Bridge, 1692

[Early Scottish Travel to the Middle East]  Bound in contemporary calf.  Rebacked with red leather spine label. Gilt to spine. New end pages.  8vo. 488, [viii], folding woodcut frontispiece and 6 folding woodcut plates [at p. 253, 277, 355, 393, 426, 435.  Some spotting. 18th century ownership inscription 'J. Courtney' at head of title.  Wing L2542.  Blackmer 1021 (1640 second ed.). Originally published under the title "The Totall Discourse of the Rare Adventures" in 1632.  Lithgow traveled extensively throughout the Levant, Greece, Constantinople and the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, Italy and Spain "He traveled mostly on foot and had a greater knowledge of the interior of the countries he visited than most travelers of this period. He provides interesting details of the society, men, and manners he observed and is probably the earliest authority for coffee-drinking in Europe, Turkish baths, the pigeon-post between Aleppo and Bagdad etc." - Blackmer.