The papers consist of memorials, notes and letters from Tsar Paul of Russia (1754-1801), 1799, the Prince Regent, later King George IV (1762-1830), 1802, Prince William Henry (1765-1837), undated, Spencer Perceval (1762-1812), 1809, Lord Palmerston (1784-1865), 1810, Sir Edward Pellew (later Viscount Exmouth) (q.v.), 1799, Earl St Vincent (q.v.), 1800, Lord Keith (q.v.), 1808, and other public figures, kept largely for their autograph value.

Administrative / biographical background
Blane studied medicine in Edinburgh and, in 1779, sailed to the West Indies. It was during this and subsequent expeditions to the West Indies that he impressed upon the Admiralty the importance and the success of anti-scorbutic measures. He was appointed Physician Extraordinary to the Prince of Wales in 1785, the year in which he produced the first edition of his work on the diseases of seamen. From 1795 until 1803 he was one of the Commissioners for Sick and Wounded Seamen. See Christopher Lloyd ed., The Health of Seamen (Navy Records Society, 1965), pp. 132-211.