Franklin (PA), USA: First Baptist Church

I feel certain that I got this pair of cards together, though I don't remember specifically. They were both sent to a Mr Dedrick of Brodhead, WI in 1906. Interestingly the space of note-writing is on the front of the card, rather than on the reverse with the address information. These two cards are both black and white and have been postally used, with a common Franklin 1c stamp for postage. One card features the exterior of the facility, the other the interior with the chancel and organ facade. The church's website (a blog really) doesn't offer any information about the music program nor the organ, let alone any history of the instrument. The interior image reveals rather remarkable murals on the ceiling of the sanctuary which must have been stunning to see in person, in color. The two cards were published by CL Griffin.

I clicked through to the church's Facebook page and found a contemporary image of the interior. It seems the organ in the postcard is still in place at the church (as are the murals!).

Annapolis (MD), USA: Naval Academy Chapel

This card shows the interior of the Chapel at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The oblique view shows the facade of part of the organ. When I was in graduate school in Washington, DC I visited here. My color card is in mint condition. It was produced by DE Traub of Maryland; it uses something called "plastichrome" by Colorpicture Publishers of Boston. The original organ was built by Hutchins of Boston in 1908. MP Moeller of Hagerstown, MD installed a larger instrument in 1940 to complement the enlarged chapel facility. Much additional work has been done over the years, though specifics are not included on the Academy's site. The instrument now includes digital voices in addition to pipe ranks, and a stunning array of what I was classify as theater-organ stops, including several percussion ranks. Text on the back of the card mentions the stained glass that is visible, but not the organ.

Boston (USA): Old South Church

Old South Church, founded in 1669, has a rich and complex history. There have been a succession of buildings over the years, and a series of musical instruments within. The present building dates from 1875. Current pictures of the interior of the church reveal instantly that considerable work has been done on the interior design. It's not possible to know exactly when the image for this postcard was taken. In the early 1980s several factors were at play in the musical life of the congregation. There was a desire to make the musical portions of worship more vital. An organ built by the Reuter firm was sold back to the builder and in turn adapted for a church in Florida. A civic auditorium in Minnesota was about the be demolished with the loss of EM Skinner Opus 308 within. The Old South Church purchased the Minnesota instrument and installed it in the front of the sanctuary. One can see from the 360-degree video of the church that a second organ resides in the rear gallery. Neither of these instruments seems to match the organ shown in the postcard. No doubt the information is available somewhere, but not readily to me at the moment. My card is in color, is un-used and was printed in Germany by the Reichner Brothers firm.

West Point, NY, USA: Cadet Chapel

The present card represents that odd co-mingling of religious and military that is somewhat unique to the US. The Cadet Chapel at the West Point Military Academy in New York is a non-denominational facility for use by all faiths represented in the student body and faculty of the academy. The present building was completed in 1910, replacing a structure from 1836. The chapel boasts of the largest pipe organ in a chapel in the world, with 23,511 pipes. My card does not have a  copyright date but copy on the reverse gives the number of pipes as 18,200 and calls the instrument the 3rd largest organ in the world, and the largest located in a church. The card is by Pendor in NY and is used. It was sent to me by a fellow-collector. Postage was paid with a USMA stamp issued in 2002. My friend lived in NY at that time. The organ was  build by Moeller in 1911 and then expanded over the years. This is an interesting article on an event in the life of the instrument.

Somerset, UK: Wells Cathedral

My postcard of the Wells Cathedral is in color, printed by DRG J Arthur Dixon, in the UK, and is in mint condition. The address side states that the view is of the "quire looking west, with the new organ case." The cathedral site specifies that the present organ began as a Henry Willis instrument in 1857, with work done in 1910 and again in 1973-4. It seems no further work has been done since. Harrisons, who did the more recent work, has a bit more information. It seems that the rather modern-looking cases are from the 1970's work, which also removed much of the sound of the Willis instrument. The cathedral site has some to say about the evolution of the case. The National Pipe Organ Registry has the specification and additional photos.

Carlisle Cathedral, UK

This card shows the choir area at Carlisle cathedral in the UK. The organ is on the rear wall in this photo. This organ dates from 1856 by Henry Willis, with work done in 1907, 1962 and 1995 when David Wells strove the return to the organ some of the Father Willis sounds. Without knowing the date of the card one cannot know during which period of the organ's history this image was created. the Cathedral site has a helpful introduction to the instrument. Be sure to read the embedded pdf for more details and to see the specification. The card was produced by Sankeys Photo Press in Barrow-in-Furness.

York, UK: Minster

The organ at York Minster (UK) is currently undergoing a complete renovation. Work was begun in October 2018 and is expected to last two years and cost 2 million pounds. Harrison & Harrison is doing the work  from their Durham, UK shops. The present instrument dates from 1829, with work doubtless done along the way. Before this installation there was a tremendous fire set by an arsonist, which destroyed the quire area of the minster. It's believed a 17th century instrument was in the minster before the fire. The card is by Valentine's; printing on the front describes the location and includes a number, 2365.\