Home

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

Author:
Recipient:

Sir, Having made a journey to Oxford, since I saw you, to inspect some Mss in the Bodlegen Library, & have ^ing been much out of order since I came up this has prevented me from paying my respects to you in the manner I ought. The news-paper has, I hope, informed you that I am in readiness to publish; as soon as my subscriptions will anyways answer the great trouble & expence I have already been at in this undertaking be(cut off) affair in heavier than I expected,I have (cut off) of great apistance to support me in it I am a person yet unknown to the Leaned world ^& a reasonable difference may be taken at my ability & capacity to perform this work. The inclosed is a letter which I have drawn up in order to be read to the Royal Society, if you Sr. would do me the honour to communicate it. I have shown it to Mr. West of the Temple, who app (cut off) of it; & does not doubt but that it will have desired success, if you wou’d be pleased to recom-mend it you known humanity of candour will excuse this presumption from me; & your reading at all times to encourage the learned & ingenious, tempts me to believe I shall not ask in vain. However, I leave it solely to your own determination, & am with great respect, Good Sr. your most obliged & most faithfull humble servant F. Drake. Anchor York-Street Coveat-garden Feb 18 1734/5
Read more- Letter 4428


Latest Statistics

Pages digitised
4,545 Document summaries
Documents transcribed
People
1,527 Medical Cases
Places