RAUWOLF LEONHART: Journey into the Eastern Countries viz Syria, Palestine or the Holy Land, Armenia etc, together, Belon: Travels to Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, Arabia…. London 1738 Second edition in English of two famous 16th-century travels in the Levant, published by Rey. In 8vo (21 × 13 cm). Modern leather over boards. Some light waterstaining throughout, with signs of moisture affecting the first leaves (including title) and last leaves, but text generally clean. Complete: 489 pp. plus 44 pp. analytical catalogue of botanical plants discovered by Rauwolf, first published here, as Stirium Orientalum. Overall a good copy. Leonhard Rauwolf traveled extensively through the Levant between 1573 and 1576, penetrating deep into Armenia and Anatolia regions rarely visited by Europeans at the time. He noted vividly, for example, that Mount Lebanon could be seen clearly from Cyprus. As a botanist, he collected a remarkable number of Levantine plants, described in detail in the appended catalogue. Pierre Belon, another eminent botanist, had traveled earlier in the mid-16th century through many of the same regions, with particular focus on the Greek parts of the Mediterranean. These classic accounts, brought together and issued in English, became especially popular in England at a time when the nation was beginning to dominate the main sea routes of the world.