Page 6 of 10
Carnivalesque: Call for Posts!
to -
During the week of September 7, I’ll be delighted to host Carnivalesque: a round-up of wonderful blog posts–any discipline–on the pre-1800 period. I’ll be celebrating one year of blogging at Sloane Letters and the start of the new academic year. Carnivalesque runs every six weeks or so. Until Darwin hosted #96 in July, if you… Read more »
August 28, 2013
Missed Opportunities in Early Modern Exploration?
to -
By Matthew De Cloedt In early December 1721 James Brydges, the first Duke of Chandos, requested a meeting with Sir Hans Sloane. Brydges, a shareholder in chartered companies operating in New York, Mississippi, and Nova Scotia, wished to gain Sloane’s scientific expertise and advise an expedition of the Royal African Company headed by a “good Botanist”… Read more »
August 27, 2013
A Death by Unicorn Horn in 1730
to -
On the 28th of August 1730, Joseph Hastings died after receiving “several mortal Bruises with an Unicorn’s Horn”, wielded by John Williams of St. Andrew’s Holborn eleven days earlier. The assault occurred on a Holborn skittle-ground, witnessed by several local men. Robert Linsey deposed that Joseph Hastings arrived at the skittle-ground “with the Horn in… Read more »
August 19, 2013
Timing is Everything
to -
By Matthew De Cloedt Hans Sloane received many gifts from myriad places and numerous people. The two books that Edmund Gibson, the Bishop of Lincoln, sent on 24 July 1722 were different. The titles might not have been noteworthy, or even mentioned in his letter, but the thanks they represented were deeply personal. Edmund’s uncle,… Read more »
August 12, 2013
A Horrifying Pregnancy and Cesarean Operation in Eighteenth-Century Ireland
to -
John Copping, the Dean of Clogher, wrote two letters to Hans Sloane in 1738 about a “Caesarian Operation performed by an ignorant Butcher” (British Library Sloane MS 4055, ff. 293-295, ff. 334-338). Copping first heard about the case of Sarah McKinna of Brentram, which had happened four years previously, from another clergyman. He then… Read more »
July 28, 2013
Citizen Science and Flying Ant Day, in 1707 and in 2013
to -
“What the heck!?” I spat, as an ant flew into my mouth. The winged ants were everywhere: crawling on the ground or (seemingly) flying dozily around. It was a warm and humid afternoon and I envied the laziness of the ants. But I had a tube train to catch and I hurried off without paying… Read more »
July 19, 2013
Repentance on the Scaffold
to -
Filled with curiosities, rare books, and commodities from Port Royal to Peking, Hans Sloane’s Bloomsbury Square residence was the perfect target for a break and enter (which I discuss here). The eight men–twice the number reported by witnesses–who attempted such a feat on 5 April 1700, however, seem to have had no idea the house… Read more »
July 17, 2013
Close Call at Bloomsbury Square
to -
By Matthew De Cloedt When John Ray received Hans Sloane’s letter of 6 April 1700 he could not help “but be moved with indignation”. He was livid that four “vile Rogues, who when they failed in their attempt of breaking open [Sloane’s] house… set it on fire.” Ray believed it was by God’s grace that… Read more »
July 15, 2013
Letters Sealed With a Kiss in the Republic of Letters
to -
Today is International Kissing Day. In June, on National Kissing Day (UK), I spread some misery instead of joy with a sad tale of a kiss. But kisses weren’t always so terrible. A quick search of the database reveals that men in the Republic of Letters were no strangers to sealing their letters with a… Read more »
July 6, 2013
A Trip to the Canary Islands, 1699-style
to -
Research is never really far from my mind, even when strolling along the seaside promenade or sipping mojitos as I did last week in Tenerife. An idle thought crossed my mind as I basked in the sun, alongside the funky Tenerifan lizards and bright-red British tourists: are there any letters about the Canary Islands in… Read more »
July 2, 2013
Page 6 of 10