Congregational Church, Osage, Iowa, USA

This card shows the pipe organ in the Congregational Church of Osage, Iowa. As best I can tell the church is now known as the Osage United Church of Christ. That congregation is in its fourth building in that town. The third building burned in 1951 having been completed in 1902. The fourth building was completed in 1954. I assume that this picture shows the 3rd building and its organ. The Organ Historical Society has information about the organ/church in its database, but as the instrument was destroyed by the fire, they have no specification, and only the most meager information. My used card is black and white, very much like that shown at the OHS database site. It was posted from Osage to Portland, OR with a one-cent Franklin stamp. The postmark indicates the year was 1910.

Home Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

My wife found these two postcards for me for Christmas this year. She found the exterior card of Home Moravian first, and decided to keep plowing through the bins. She shortly came across the organ card. The exterior card is used, having been sent to a resident of Baltimore, MD. The stamp is missing. It shows the west end of the church from the early part of the 20th century. The card is dated January 28, either 1910 or 1918.

The interior card shows the whole chancel area of the church, including green(!) carpeting. Assuming the date of his card is roughly the same as the exterior (no guarantees whatsoever), the organ shown is probably the Kimball instrument which was installed in 1913. The Organ Historical Society's database provides this information (among other information):

FROM "THE MUSIC OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA" Edited by Nola Reed Knouse University of Rochester Press, 2008 Essay 5: The Organ in Moravian Church Music; Lou Carol Fix - pg.159 "A new two manual and pedal organ of twenty-two stops built by the Kimball firm of Chicago was installed in 1913 with the latest technology of full pneumatic action. A church member wrote that 'the console was large because of the may lead tubes and bellows required to operate.'" 

And this:

Notably, Mrs. Bessie Whittington Pfohl (wife of Bishop Kenneth Pfohl) was organist when this instrument replaced the Tannenberg and was still living when it was replaced by the current Aeolian-Skinner. 

Regarding the Pfohl family mentioned in the second citation: a granddaughter of Bishop Pfohl sings in the choir at the church where I serve as musician.

The Kimball instrument was replaced in 1959 with an Aeolian-Skinner instrument. Parts of the Kimball instrument were incorporated into other instruments in Moravian churches in the area, and parts remain in storage at the church.

Chester Cathedral (GB)

The first instrument in Chester Cathedral which can be reliably determined is the 1844 instrument by Gray and Davison. Whiteley Brothers made additions in 1876 including Cavaille-Coll harmonic flutes and reeds. In 1910 William Hill and Son removed the Cavaille-Coll additions in favor of their own. Much of the organ is located at the front of the north transept, with the choir division located on the south side of the choir area. Rushworth and Dreaper did work on the instrument in 1969. Under the care of David Wells since 1991, there have been no further significant changes. The National Pipe Organ Register listing for the cathedral instrument gives detailed information about the specification.

Exeter Cathedral, GB

This card shows the organ in Exeter Cathedral, in Great Britain. The card is sepia, and unused. Its perspective is from the choir area looking to the liturgical west end. The organ features prominently. The organ was built in 1665 by John Loosemore. It has received its share of work over nearly four centuries, to meet the varying needs of the cathedral music, but remains a notable instrument. Most recently the organ was refurbished by Harrison & Harrison in Durham, GB beginning in 2013 (their own report on their work here). The instrument was played again at Advent 2014. Costing 1 million pounds, the work including re-organizing the interior of the instrument to facilitate sound projection and other aspects of improvement. View information from the cathedral website here, and a specification here.

I also have this card which shows the nave looking east, catching the opposite side of the organ and arch. This card is also sepia-toned, in mint condition. The reverse proclaims it is from the "Sunshine Series" of cards photographed and printed by EA Sweetman and Son of Tunbridge, Wells.

Rodez Cathedral (FR)

This card shows the interior of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Rodez, France. The facade of the organ is barely visible near the left edge of the card. There is a large instrument in the north transept of the cathedral. This does not seem to be that instrument. There is a less renowned choir organ, which is what I suspect appears on this particular card. The third picture below shows the choir, with the choir organ and its console showing at left.I have not been able to find information about the choir organ; the information below is about the gallery instrument.

 

The cathedral was begun in the late 1200's and completed in the 16th century. It has Romanesque features. The transept gallery organ was begun in 1629 by Antoine Vernholes, with Raymond Gusmond assisting. The organ stands on a gallery in the north transept. The 1629 instrument itself used wooded features from a pre-existing Gothic era instrument by an un-named builder. The organ underwent work every few years for most of its existence. There was a "complete repair" in 1839, but a lightening strike in 1880 made the instrument completely unplayable. Beginning in 1975 Paul Manual began a complete rebuilding of the instrument, culminating in 1986 with a re-dedication of the instrument by Michel Bouvard. The goal in this restoration was to return the instrument to a tonal language of the 17th century, removing alterations made over the centuries. Though in French, this page gives a specification including composition of the mixture stops. This site gives more detail and has slightly different information. The instrument has four manuals and pedal.
 

Auriesville, NY (USA): Shrine

 

I bought this card knowing nothing about the facility depicted. Only upon doing some research did I learn that what is depicted is a four-sided altar area, but no organ! What are actually large wood columns (tree trunks) looked to me like they could have been organ pipes. Sadly they are not. This site has a pretty good collection of photos of the shrine, but no organ again. The shrine's site again shows the altar area, making it clear this is no organ, but does not show a picture of any organ at the facility. The shrine was built in 1885 and is dedicated in memory of Catholic martyrs in North America.

Monreal (IT): Duomo

Monreale is a small town in the Palermo province of Sicily, Italy. It was begun in 1174 in a basilica plan, with three apses in the choir area. The instrument no doubt has a colorful history, given its setting in such an old facility. However, I could find no helpful sites describing the instrument. Ruffatti did work on it in 1967, such that it is now comprised of 137 ranks, and possessed of a 6-manual console. I bought my two cards at different time, no doubt forgetting I had the first when I purchased the second. The console is visible in the older cards. The modern image reveals that the console has been removed to another location.