No place, March 5, 1785. One sheet page, oblong 12mo (140 x 191 mm). Receipted by Emanuel F. Couser, framed and matted with oval print of Gibbon, unexamined out of frame, overall 13 x 20 1/4 in. Charles Hamilton Galleries wax seal on verso; with Christophe Stickel Autographs certificate of authenticity.

In this manuscript receipt, Gibbon acknowledges in French his having received twelve specially tailored pairs of pants, writing in French, "Bon sur sa quittance generale Mars 1785" ("Good on on its general receipt, March 1785").

Edward Gibbon was an English essayist and historian best known for his monumental history of the Roman Empire, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Stricken by ill health from a young age, Gibbon began to suffer from gout in his early thirties. Within a few years, he had begun to see symptoms such as testicular swelling, a painful condition which would sometimes see them fill with up to five quarts of fluid. Because of this condition, Gibbon was forced to rotate his wardrobe often. The present example is one of only a few known examples of Gibbon's handwriting to come up for auction.