Vinton, Iowa, USA: Presbyterian Church

Vinton, Iowa is in the eastern part of the state, about halfway between Des Moines and Davenport. It seems the Presbyterian Church there has used three facilities during its existence. The present building at one time had a dome which was removed in the middle of the last century. Copper from the dome was reputedly used "for the war effort."

There was apparently some cleaning done to the organ in 2015. There is a fairly decent photo essay of the project at the church's website. However no details are given about who undertook the work, nor any specifics about the instrument. I have not been able to find any information about it anywhere. The picture below is dated Easter 2017. The facade looks very much as it does on my card.

My card is used, black and white. The card is postmarked 1924. It shows the pulpit area with a raised chancel or choir area behind. The organ is within that raised area. One can discern the dome which was later removed as a roof feature.

Virginia City, NV, USA: St Paul's Episcopal

 

St Paul's Episcopal Church in Virginia City, Nevada was established in 1861. The was a massive fire in 1875 after which the church was rebuilt in Carpenter-Gothic style. At present the facility is in dire need of restoration: of it the present building dates from 1875. The structure is mostly wood (two varieties of pine).

The Alexander Mills (New York) organ was installed as part of the 1875 rebuild, and finished in 1876. The church website provides the following:

Two manuals. 3 divisions. 17 stops. 20 registers. 19 ranks. 975 pipes. Manual compass is 58 notes. Pedal compass is 27 notes.

No specification is provided. Mills provided other instruments for Western churches in the same general time span as the St Paul organ.

My postcard is in color, mint. It shows the nave and chancel area with a good view of the organ. The original church had a rear gallery; the view of the postcard seems to suggest one exists in the present building also. The picture below is of the keydesk showing some of the pedalboard. The page for the organ gives some details as to the layout of the pipework within the instrument.

Monaco: Salle Garnier

Monaco issued a set of stamps celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Salle Garnier, the opera house in that principality in 1979. The set of 6 stamps (Scott 1167-1172) include 5 that show scenes from operas produced in the theater. The sixth stamp shows a famous painting which is above the stage showing various instruments and players. Included is an organ/organist. Mark Jameson gave me these postcards with first day of issue markings on the stamps. the card vignette is a replication of the musical painting. I'll have to try to track down similar FDCs of the other stamps to get a complete set!

South Molton, Exeter, UK

South Molton is located in the southwest of England, about an hour from Exeter. This postcard shows a straight-ahead view of the sanctuary of St Mary Magdalene in South Molton, including the chancel, with the organ facade visible to the left of the image.

NPOR states the instrument is by WG Vowles, but no year of installation is given. the only other detail besides the stoplist is the fact that the blower was electrified in 1934. No other restoration or rebuild information is provided. As described, the instrument seems a perfectly serviceable one, with plenty of foundation tone, and minimal upper work. The color picture of the church reveals stenciling on the facade pipes. My postcard is unused, black and white.

Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, VA, USA

 

Williamsburg, VA may be thought of as two distinct entities. There is the self-contained historic area well worth visiting at any time, and the sprawling town which has grown up around the enclave. Bruton Parish is located in the historic area and is part of all of the activity which take place there. It is also a lively Episcopal congregation with a vigorous music program. This postcard shows a (probably staged) worship service with preacher and congregants. It includes an organ in the front gallery.

What is visible is a case and dummy pipes from a 1785 organ by Samuel Green. The keydesk and pipework are apparently in storage. As the parish grew in the last century, it was able to purchase a large Aeolian-Skinner instrument installed above the ceiling and in other areas of the church. The installation while note-worthy was never musically satisfying. Plans are underway to raise funds for a completely new instrument by the Dobson firm.

St John's, Church Hill, Richmond, VA USA

St John's Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA is famous for being the site of Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death" speech. The parish capitalizes on this with regulated entrance to the facility, tours, and re-enactments of the speech inside the building. The church is also an active congregation with its own website. My postcard is one of several from the same era created by the church as part of the marketing of the Patrick Henry tie-in. They are all fairly common.

This color postcard at the top is used, with a note on the front with the date January 10, 1907. The church website states "the Adam Stein organ was installed in 1905 and restored in 1983." That would make the card contemporaneous with the new instrument. John DeMayo's more accurate site detailing Episcopal Churches in the region gives the years 1903 and 1985, with the latter work being done by the Virginia firm, Lewis and Hitchcock. His page also gives the specification. The card just above is not dated so I will not hazard a guess as to its time frame. Subtle differences between the wo cards (light fixture, stone tablet, transept door) distinguish the two and suggest different time frames. This second card is unused.

Elm Park United Methodist, Scranton, PA, USA

 

Ground was broken for the present edifice for Elm Park Methodist Church in 1893. At that time a large Farrand and Votey organ was installed in the chancel area of the sanctuary. It included four manual divisions plus pedals, and had 68 stops and more than 2200 pipes. It served the congregation in that configuration for about 60 years when renovation work was done.  In 1995 the Reuter firm of Lawrence, Kansas removed the old instrument, conserved some pipework and constructed a new instrument, their opus 2179. The new instrument uses electronics to provide the lowest notes of two 32' stops in the pedals. The Reuter site does not give specifics, but we can learn the instrument has 3 manuals and 53 ranks.

My card is color showing a large swath of the sanctuary, including space that could have been closed off by a moving wall at the back of the room. The image clearly shows the organ and window at the front of the room. It seems that the new Reuter instrument kept the facade look of the Farrand and Votey instrument, minus the stenciling on the facade pipes. My card is used with the stamp removed, but the postmark indicating the year it was sent was 1910.