Fig. 5.—Front of show complete.
The space below Punch’s platform, however, is covered in a different manner.
A row of tacks or brads is driven into the front of the two uprights to about three-quarters of their length. A corresponding number of small curtain rings—to be obtained at any hardware store for 5 cents a dozen—are then sewn down the sides of a piece of the cambric 5 feet 6 inches long. By this means the cloth may be hooked to the front of the show, as illustrated in [Fig. 5].
Packing Up the Show
When the Punch and Judy Show has to be packed away, it is merely necessary to unhook the front cloth, take out the platform, and fold the framework up as though it were a screen or a clothes’ horse.
But before this trial “pack up” is attempted, there are one or two small but important additions to be made.
First of all, the top of the opening at which Punch presents his cheery countenance must be decorated. This is easily done. Two small nails are driven perpendicularly into the top of the front uprights, and a stout piece of wire stretched between them. A frieze of cambric is then hemmed round the wire ([Fig. 5]). The wire should be simply hooked on the nails, so that it can easily be detached when the show is folded up.
A similar frieze must also be tacked along the edge of the platform.
With regard to the scenery! Mr. Punch is very modest in this direction, for he requires only two wings with which to garnish his abode. These generally take the form of a scene of the top window of a house, and the front of a shop or a portico.