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:
I desire you will send by this
barer Mr Buddle’s [Vosent?] of –
plants & his two manacrips
for he has charg’d mee to send
them to Dr. Sloane, which I
designe to do this day, for to
my grate sorrow I find I must
now say a side all hopes of
his recovery, my misfortune is
such that I know not into whos
hands they may fall if ye [fatat?]
hower is once past, I would be
glad to send ye compleet Colect
ion not doubting but if Mr –
Petiter has aney further ocas
ion Dr Sloane will not denigh
ye perusall, if you have aney
Books here I desire you will send
for them while they are in my
power for God [asoon?] know what I am to do or
what to suffer, but am your destressed
humble sarvant
[…] Buddle
[Wednesday morning?]
[?] of [ye?] clock
Read more- Letter 4089
Latest Statistics
| Pages digitised | |
| 4,545 | Document summaries |
| Documents transcribed | |
| People | |
| 1,527 | Medical Cases |
| Places |