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:
Newport pannel [nr?] Bukinghamshir ye 28 [..]: 1727
Dear Sr
I found my self ill yesterday morning, before I left home with a violent headache – loathsomeness of stomach, & a great looseness. However thinking the journey would do me good I venturd as far as this place wch is 17 miles from my house but the symptoms are so increasd wch I take to bee ye signs of what they call the new feaver, that I fear I am not able to proceed I am extremely Sorry for ye disapointment wch I hope wch be no prjudice to ye affairs of Sr Hannes Sloane but I dread lying .. upon the .ad, & if I am not better this afternoon, I will return home to be sick. Pray give my obedt service to my good friend Mr {…}, whom I had promisd to [d?] Tea with next Thursday morning, & if it be not too great trouble of you should go towards [grafton?] street near the oratory, I beg you would call at my Lodging there at Mrs du Hamels [to?] [Motteners?] over against the [ballo?] wch and .. who expects me & where I sent my to [do a…s?] [last?] week I desire you to tell her I shall not come I beg pardon for this trouble I would have wrote to her my self but by head akes so I am ….. say [ye.?] I am Dear Sr your most humble Servt C Lamotte [T..d.y p…..?]
Read more- Letter 4033
Latest Statistics
| Pages digitised | |
| 4,545 | Document summaries |
| Documents transcribed | |
| People | |
| 1,527 | Medical Cases |
| Places |