Masevaux, France

I got this cover several years ago, not really knowing what I was getting. The stamp is a common French regular issue, unremarkable with a likewise unremarkable cancellation. I liked the cachet. It shows an organ facade, a church tower and mentions the Masevaux International Organ Festival.

St Martin Church in Masevaux burned in 1966, destroying an historic Callinet organ from the mid-1800's. The church committed to rebuild, including two instrument (choir area and rear gallery) for the new facility. The 2016 season was the 40th of this august festival series.

The gallery organ was built by Alfred Kern and completed in 1975. This is the instrument shown on the cover.

France: St Andrew, Issenheim

This cover has a cachet which shows the facade of the Callinet organ in St Andrew's Church, Issenheim. The Decouverte Orgue site has a nice summary of the organ. The instrument was built in 1835 by Joseph Callinet. A donor made financial provision for the upkeep of the instrment and for training young organists in 1869. The most recent work on the instrument seems to have been in 1996 by the Schwenkedel firm.

The cover features a pre-printed stamp image. There is no copyright date on the envelop, so it's not possible to determine when it was issued. It has a self-adhesive closure on the back, with a removable paper strip revealing adhesive.