Welcome to The Sloane Letters Project
A pilot of this project, Sir Hans Sloane’s Correspondence Online, was first launched at the University of Saskatchewan in 2010 to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Sir Hans Sloane’s birth. The project was renamed The Sloane Letters Project when it moved to this site in 2016.
The correspondence of Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) consists of thirty-eight volumes held at the British Library, London: MSS 4036-4069, 4075-4078. The letters are a rich source of information about topics such as scientific discourse, collections of antiquities, curiosities and books, patients’ illnesses, medical treatments and family history. Most of the letters were addressed to Sloane, but a few volumes were addressed to others (MSS 4063-4067) or written by Sloane (MSS 4068-4069).
So far, we have entered descriptions and metadata for Sloane MSS 4036-4053 and 4075, as well as several letters from each of the following: Sloane MSS 4054-4055, 4066, 4068-4069 and 4076. Several of these entries also include transcriptions. Further entries and transcriptions are being made available gradually.
Please, explore the website and database. You can search through the letters, learn about Sir Hans Sloane or the letters written to him, and peruse blog posts about interesting letters!
Random Letter
Author:Recipient:
[fol. 96] Paris Sep’r 10th 1715 Hon’d S’r I beg pardon for my omission, in not writting an account of the delivery of your books before. but I stayed for to pay my respects to Mr Geffroy, whose bussiness hindred him from speaking to me. I am showed a great many Civilities here by the learned men when they happen to hear my name in telling how much they adore you, and wish they were capable of serving me to shew the veneration and Esteem they have of one of the greatest men of the age, and other other compliments they express of you which would lose their beauty under y pen I arrived here in good time to see the manor of the king’s burial; in every Church prayers are made for the kings soul which they say he has need of, The people here loved the king when Living, but tell us they are too wise to be concerned for him when dead. The young king has a mind to save money for it is thought The Machine of Marby will be destroyed and is contentd to live in Vincanes tho’ very much inferiour to Versailes or marby I go to morrow for the Country towards Orleans there to apply my self to french for 6 weeks and then to take the Rout that was proposed in London. Pray give my Duty to my Aunt and Love and service to y Cusins from Hon’d S’r Your most obedient and Dutiful nephew Will’m Sloane
Read more- Letter 2046
Latest Statistics
| Pages digitised | |
| 4,545 | Document summaries |
| Documents transcribed | |
| People | |
| 1,527 | Medical Cases |
| Places |