Illustrated

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Illustrations

1985: Theatre (Design - Paul Flora; Engraver - Wolfgang Seidel)

Opera buffa (Italian comic opera) usually in two acts often using the lower male voices. The basso buffo is a comic bass (or baritone) specialising in lighthearted, absurd or blustering characters. It demands comic timing and very fast singing with clear diction for the word play. The illustration shows a typical costume and a random owl.

One thing will not make an appearance is

Wood Engraving by Robin Dower

a Northumberland Small Pipe. It says on the back of the card that they can be heard playing at Wallington Clock Tower. The history behind this statement belongs to  Patricia Travelyn who was part of the family that owned the Wallington Hall estate before donating it to the National Trust. She regularly played the small pipes in the courtyard to entertain visitors to the Clock Tower Cafe. To honor her memory traditional music groups and pipers still gather at Wallington Hall in the summer months. If you want to see how it all works the Northumberland piper Kathryn Tickell explains here in a short video. I don't think I could manage all the co-ordination!

As it says on the card they are designed for playing indoors

Building A House, 1949. (Illustration by Richard Leacroft

but they will have to finish the house first. Helen and Richard Leacroft wrote and illustrated several architectural books for Puffin which included churches and even pyramids. These children's books were first published by Penguin in 1940 despite the challenges of severe paper rationing during World War II. The idea was a success as it expanded into all types of literature, at one time there was a Puffin Magazine and Puffin Club, with badges! The strapline is "There's nuffin like a puffin!"