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How Hans Sloane's collection may have contained a specimen of Peripatus, though not actually one from Jamaica.
Sloane remained an obsessive collector for the rest of his life. Since he never again travelled himself, he increased his collections by acquiring what others found. He supported other men's expeditions to exotic places, and bought collections like those of William Courten, and of James Pettiver, whose collection was never even taken out of its boxes. Sloane kept his ever-growing collection in his house (and the one next door) in Bloomsbury Place, and later in his country house at Chelsea, where it filled rooms and corridors from top to bottom. Visitors flocked to view the incredible display. Distinguished visitors included the great composer George Frederic Handel, who upset his host by leaving a buttered muffin on one of the rare books, and Frederick, Prince of Wales, (father of George III), who sat and talked with Sloane, expressing his admiration for the remarkable items he had seen and noting their value to the nation.
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