Magic Lantern Slide Circa 1900 Hand Coloured. John Gilpin Coloured Illustration. John Gilpin (18th Century) Was Featured As The Subject In A Well-Known Comic Ballad Of 1782 By William Cowper, Entitled The Diverting History Of John Gilpin. Cowper Had Heard The Story From His Friend Lady Austen. Gilpin Was Said To Be A Wealthy Draper From Cheapside In London, Who Owned Land At Olney, Buckinghamshire, Near Where Cowper Lived. It Is Likely That He Was A Mr Beyer, A Linen Draper Of The Cheapside Corner Of Paternoster Row. The Poem Tells How Gilpin And His Wife And Children Became Separated During A Journey To The Bell Inn, Edmonton, After Gilpin Loses Control Of His Horse, And Is Carried Ten Miles Farther To The Town Of Ware.