In 1673, the amateur botanist Sir George Wheler travelled to Europe on the Grand Tour. While in Venice, Wheler met the French doctor Jacques Spon (1647–85) and the two men embarked on a tour of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Wheler was very conscientious on this journey, collecting many samples of continental plant life and remarking upon the various animals found in Greece and along the Levantine coast.

In 1678, Spon published his account of the tour, with Wheler’s following four years later. Wheler’s account is heavily illustrated with botanical, numismatic, zoological and antiquarian images. Unfortunately, the printed text contained numerous errors and Wheler was forced to personally correct some of his own copies. This copy contains manuscript corrections to the text, possibly in George III’s own hand.