Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

The Euklisia rug, patented by Newtown entrepreneur Pryce Jones in 1876, was exported around the world in the late 19th century. It has been described as the world's first sleeping bag. It does not look anything like a modern sleeping bag - it is more of a folded rug - but you can see the rug only needed a couple of fasteners to be more recognisable a sleeping bag. No examples of the rug appear to have survived but researchers on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wales Television series, Wales and the History of the World, decided to recreate it using the original patent. Documents at Powys archives in Llandrindod Wells show Pryce Jones sold 60,000 rugs to the Russian army. The Euklisia rug was just one of Pryce Jones' business innovations. He is probably best remembered as the father of mail order shopping, producing the world's first mail order catalogues in the 1860s. The rug was recreated by Jane Beck, an antique cloth specialist from Tregaron in Ceredigion.