Ivy-clad and ancient, Manor Farm near Ickenham in Middlesex broods behind a long wooden fence and a five-bar gate, its Jacobean gables and moss-covered roof tiles hinting at centuries of agricultural continuity even as the Metropolitan Railway was bringing London's suburbs ever closer. This postcard — number 8 in a series — was issued by the Metropolitan Railway Company itself, part of their celebrated "Country Homes" promotional campaign designed to encourage Londoners to settle along the Met line in what was then being marketed as "Metroland." The back carries the Met Railway's heraldic logo and an advertisement for through trains between the City and the country districts of Middlesex, Herts and Bucks, printed by David Allen & Sons Ltd of London, Harrow and Belfast. An evocative piece of transport and social history, unposted and in fine condition.