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. 4]
Sr Black Notley Aprill 13. 1700.
Upon reading Your Letter of the 6th instant I could not
but be moved with indignation against those vile Rogues,
who when they failed in their attempt of breaking open Your
house were so malicious as to set it on fire. I congratulate
with you your deliverance from so great a danger, & hum-
bly thank God on your behalf.
The scurrilous Pamphlet entitled the Transactioneer I did al-
ways believe to be no better then you represent it.
And for Dr Plukenet I look upon him as an ill natured man, &
liable to mistakes how ever confident & slef-conceited he may be, that
I say nothing of his unskilfulnesse & want of exactnesse in ye Latine
& Greek tongues. His arrogance & overweening opinion of himself
& his performances appears by that hemistichium prefixt to his
Phytography, Nil nifi pramia desunt.
I doo not urge the sending me your Magellane-straits plants I
am in no hast for them, but can well wait your leisure
I did not expect so great & rich an Addiction to my Supplemt
of History as You tell me Dr Sherard intends generously to con-
tribute in wch respect it is well my undertakers were so dila-
tory in beginning upon it. It will be greatly for ye advantage of
the Work, if ever it come to be published. I should be very glad
to see Dr Sherard, & to have some conference with him though loath
I am He should put himself to ye trouble & expence of such
a journey for my sake. Please to give my service to him,
& tell him so much.
Your intended Present of Sugar doth so far exceed my merit
or expectation, that I may justly be ashamed to accept it. We are
so far obliged already for largesses of this & other kinds, that
we want ability to make you any amends. All We can doe is to
retain a gracefull memory of your kindnesse, & to owne the obli-
gation. My Wife & Daughters return their very humble servi-
ces & thanks to you
Dr Tourneforts Institutions may be of use to me as to the Me-
thodus Plantaru[m] emendata, wch I have ready for the Presse
both for the correcting of some mistakes wch possibly I may
have committed, & the enlarging of it by now observations
I have done whem I have told you that I am
Sr
Your very much obliged friend &
humble servant John Ray
Read more- Letter 0611
Latest Statistics
| Pages digitised | |
| 4,545 | Document summaries |
| Documents transcribed | |
| People | |
| 1,527 | Medical Cases |
| Places |