Home

Welcome to The Sloane Letters Project

sloaneA 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:

Monsr. Votre Caractere avantageuse m’a fait recevoir avec beaucoup des plaisir la lettre que vous m’avez fait l’honnr de mècrire par M Donegan. Il ne me parait pas necessaire que les Amateurs des Sciences entrevoient pour s’estimer mutuellement puisque la distance des lieux les emplois particuliers le manque de Santé et mille autres raisons, preseriraient a cette estime louable des bornes infiniment trop etroites. J’aurais eté ravi de vous en donner des preuves en rendant a ce monsieur tout ce service qui dependrait de moi, entre consideration; mais ne trouvant pas apropos de rester a Londres, il sen va en Irlande incessamment. C’est pourquoi je vous invites a vous servir de moi abrement, toutes les fois que vous croirez que je puis vous etre utile ici, ou a quelqu’un de vos Amis; puisque parlà vous me donnerez occasion de vous convaincre de la sincere Estime avec la quelle j’ai l’honneur d’etre A paris le 11e d’août 1731.
Read more- Letter 3918


Latest Statistics

Pages digitised
4,545 Document summaries
Documents transcribed
People
1,527 Medical Cases
Places