A Compendium of Ancient Geography, Astronomy, and Medicine
“The British Tourists” or “Traveller's Pocket Companion”[1] is an extensive six volume travel guide of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland written by William Mavor in the late eighteenth century. The first volume was published 1798, with the sixth and final volume published in 1800. The guide would likely have been targeted towards affluent individuals from Britain and the rest of Europe who were interested in touring the British Isles. This included people such as aristocrats, wealthy merchants, intellectuals, and adventurers. The guide has significant amounts of information on nearly every region of the British. It served as an effectively accessible instrument of guidance for those who sought to travel by themselves through the region. Its small size allowed the guide to fit in one’s pocket, hence the name, “Pocket Companion.” Today, the Pocket Companion’s great influence and detail are still evident as copies of the same guide are still sold on major websites such as Amazon.com, and Walmart. Original copies of all six volumes were donated by Dr. James Hosmer Penniman as a part of a 3,000 book collection in 1915 to the University of Pennsylvania. These volumes are now found in the Kislak Center for Special Collections at the University of Pennsylvania.
Background
Historical Context
This book was published in Venice, Italy...[2]