CALVERT, Frederick (Baron Baltimore). [Eastern Costume, Engraved from the Collection of Lord Baltimore, after designs by Francis Smith, London, 1769.]

Frederick Calvert (1731-1771), sixth Baron of Baltimore was a British nobleman with properties in Maryland, then a British colony in America. He never lived there himself, abstained from politics and preferred to live a luxurious and scandalous life on the income gained from his overseas estate.
Baltimore was accused of abduction and rape, acquitted but did not escape public criticism. He abandoned Britain and lived in Italy and later in Istanbul (1763-1764), where it was rumoured that he kept a harem of his own.

He travelled to the East in the company of artist Fr. Smith, whose drawings illustrated Lord Baltimore's editions. The text of his travel account is rather condensed but contains several extracts of poetry and sayings from the East.

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou