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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

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[fol. 16] Deare Sir/ Having made as good a collection of specimens of our northern plants as my occasions this yeare wil allowe of, I tooke the freedome to send you them by John Alkison a Branford carrier who wil safly brnig them to you along with them you wil finde a bundle directed for Mr Buddle of which I have given him notice you wil fnide in your bundle some of the stones I formerly gave you an account of having nothing else at present by me worth sending But I can not omitt relating to you the case of a certaine Lady of this Country; who benig about fower months gon with child fel into the pains of Laboure the having had several times before the misfortune to miscary was apprehensive of the wel went she was let blood twice benig of a plethorick constitution & astruigeul & Anodine medicins prescribed & what else might be thought convi[…] for her, but they did not answer the designd end for about three days after the first invasion of her paine she miscaryed, I not then being with her the Abortion was preservd in water till I came, which was some houres after, upon the first appearance I tooke it to be a Mola it was of an oval figure, & about the size of a Hens egg but being desirouse to open it I tooke it out of the water & pressing upon it with my finger it seemd to be harder than any thing I could ecpect of that kind, having cut it open not without some difficulty, I found in it a small quantity of pellucid water & an embrio as wel formd as could be expected for that time the membrane that invested it was single & of a darke red coloure without & white within& perfectly Cartalayinvouse very much resembling the hind part of the brest of a young fowle but harder & as thick. This I opened in the (pre)sence of Francis Lnidley Esqr my nerighboure whose relation it was that bore it (covered) the delivery her genre something ebated but was still very uneasy, the morning after she parted with a Cishs something larger then the first of the same forme & hardness but larger & open at one end. The Lady is now very wel it being about five weeks since this happened; it was never my fortune before to meeyt with the membrane investing the fetus Cartalayinvouse nor have I ever in any Author met with any parallel case this being to me tre Irigulare (though perhaps otherwise to you) that I though it would be a crime in me not to communicate it to a person of your learning & curiosity & hope you wil pardon my freedome in Worthy Sir your very much obliged servant Ric: Richardson North Bierly Aug: 22 702
Read more- Letter 0766


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