Offered for sale is an original manuscript receipt dated September 29, 1778, signed by William Julius Mickle (1735–1788), the renowned Scottish poet and translator of Luís de Camões’ The Lusiad, one of the great epics of world literature.

Item Details

Date: September 29, 1778

Author/Signer: William Julius Mickle

Recipient: Mr. Tho’s Evans (Thomas Evans, London bookseller and publisher)

Content: Receipt acknowledging payment of one pound fourteen shillings “on account.”

Format: Manuscript receipt, signed in full, mounted to descriptive biographical backing.

Transcription

> “Received 29 Sept. 1778 of Mr. Tho’s Evans the sum of One pound Fourteen shillings on account

W. J. Mickle”

Historical Significance

William Julius Mickle, the son of a Scottish clergyman, achieved lasting fame for his 1776 English translation of The Lusiad (Os Lusíadas), the national epic of Portugal. The poem celebrates Vasco da Gama’s voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to India, and Mickle’s translation quickly established itself as the standard English version, reprinted many times.

Mickle had earlier published Providence (1762) and The Concubine (1765), but it was The Lusiad that secured his literary reputation. He also served as corrector of the Clarendon Press at Oxford and later as secretary to Commodore Johnstone. He retired to Forest Hill, Oxfordshire, where he died in 1788.

The recipient, Thomas Evans (1739–1803), was a well-regarded London bookseller and publisher who worked with prominent writers of the period, making this a direct artifact from the literary marketplace of 18th-century London.

Collector’s Notes

Mickle autographs are rare; dated receipts connected to his literary career are highly desirable.

Provides a tangible link to the period shortly after the first publication of The Lusiad.

Strong crossover appeal for collectors of literary autographs, 18th-century publishing history, and Portuguese literature.

Condition

Manuscript mounted to biographical backing sheet. Writing remains dark, legible, and well-preserved. Partial loss at one corner not affecting signature or main content.

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A scarce signed 1778 receipt from William Julius Mickle, translator of The Lusiad, tied directly to his relationship with London bookseller Thomas Evans.