This is a copy of the first edition of Pausanias' Description of Greece, printed by the press of Aldus Manutius in Venice in 1516. Manutius had died the previous year but the press continued until the death of his grandson Aldus Manutius the Younger in 1597.

Pausanias' Description is the only surviving piece of ancient 'travel literature'. It was created sometime around AD 150 and consists of Pausanias' travels through southern Greece and includes remarks on local history, religious customs and significant monuments from the archaic and classical period (8th to 4th century BC). Pausanias' attention to detail is remarkable, particularly when compared to similar works by Strabo and Herodotus, both of whom relied heavily on hearsay. Although still quite inaccurate (he often confuses geographic features), some of his descriptions have been supported by archaeology, leading this work to be of importance to scholars of Greek customs in the Roman period.
Prior to its acquisition by William IV in 1835, the book was in the collection of Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford. North was a Hellenophile and in 1824 established the Ionian Academy on the island of Corfu. The library of the Academy contained many examples of classical Greek literature and is regarded as the first modern university to be established in Greece.