[Viscount Bolingbroke] Receipt Signed Bolingbroke.

Paper, 24 x 14cm, edges frayed not affecting text, sl. grubby, tipped on to sl. larger paper. Text (secretarial): Received June the 8th. 1764 the contents of the Within order [not present] || Witness John Dupont. Signed Bolingbroke. Note: Bully, as he was called by his contemporaries, is best known for his extravagant lifestyle and the racehorses he bred. On 8 September 1757 he married Lady Diana Spencer,[4] elder daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, after making a joking proposal to her in one of London's pleasure gardens. Bolingbroke's insistence on maintaining a bachelor's lifestyle (which included lavish spending, a string of mistresses, heavy drinking and gambling) after their marriage, coupled with verbal and, possibly, physical spousal abuse, led to a bitter separation between Bully and the popular and artistic Lady Diana. Bolingbroke brought divorce proceedings against his wife for her criminal conversation with Topham Beauclerk, with whom she bore a child. The Bolingbroke divorce is notable for being streamlined compared to similar proceedings and thus is credited with easing the way for noble divorces in the 19th century.