Shropshire Star

Chance house clearance find leads to magical glimpse into life more than a century ago

A chance find during a house clearance led to a fascinating insight into life in a rural town at the turn of the last century.

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A set of magic lantern slides, made by a Llanfyllin shopkeeper, were discovered and are now the basis of a new book by local historian Richard Kretchmer.

A Golden Summer in Llanfyllin looks, Mr Kretchmer says, at a forgotten artist and a forgotten art.

Magic lantern slides were hand-tinted to produce a colour effect and were then projected onto a screen to be enjoyed in all their glory.

Those found in the house clearance were the work of Mr John Ellis Jones, a shopkeeper who sold boots and shoes on the High Street in the early years of the last century.