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. 3
I have received the favour of yr letter, and propose very soon to enter into ye course you direct. I vomit easily and have no obligation to that part of your reason, and with Gods blessing I intend to go through with ye whole: but I leave offe my pepper with some reluctancy because I cannot conceive how it should hurt (but rather help) a phlegmatic cough; as I know mine to be. However I have taken none since you forbad it, nor shall I meddle with it any more. This swelling of my legs and ankles abates, I never have any thirst upon me unless I dine upon meats that are very salty or highly seasoned and even then, a glass more than ordinary contents me. A quart of liquids in ye day has sufficed me for many years and I seldom drink so much, so that I can easily bear any inhibition of that kind. I go to stool regularly once in ye day, and make water as I used to do, but I have been observ’d for about 2 months last past that my water has been a little higher colour’d than ordinary the quality as usual and now Sir I have given you as particular an account of myself as I know how to do, and for my health I refer it to your care and Gods blessing, I am…
Read more- Letter 2582
Latest Statistics
| Pages digitised | |
| 4,545 | Document summaries |
| Documents transcribed | |
| People | |
| 1,527 | Medical Cases |
| Places |