Sir Hans Sloane and the Library of Dr Luke Rugeley

Abstract In early 1697 Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), physician and collector, bought a number of books from the library of Luke Rugeley, a renowned fellow physician. Sloane's marked-up copy of the sale catalogue reveals some of Sloane's particular interests in this collection, showing a strong emphasis on German works on alchemy and chemistry. Although Sloane was said to have bought the whole of Rugeley's library, this was not the case: Sloane marked only about one in ten of the lots and acquired only about a quarter of these. Evidence from Rugeley's books now located at the British Library, and from Sloane's own manuscript library-catalogue, demonstrates how Sloane managed and described this material. Many of Rugeley's books bear distinctive annotations, which may have been of particular interest to Sloane in the light of his interest in a remedy for eye disease used by Rugeley. He and his amanuenses made a variety of suggestions concerning the identity of the author of these notes, though none of these can now be substantiated. Sloane seems to have later acquired several other books from Rugeley's library, and other books annotated in the same hand as those from Rugeley's library.