Pipe Organ Stamps

"Pipe organ" is a recognized topic of the American Topical Association, a resource for stamp collectors. The organization provides for collectors who accumulate stamps according to the image portrayed, not necessarily by country of origin. New topics are continually be added to the list developed by ATA. One of the primary ways this occurs is by an interested collector developing a list of the stamps he or she believes should be included.

The pipe organ check list produced by the American Topical Association was developed in 1995 by Walter Felton. When I got back into collecting, I joined ATA, got a copy of the list and went to work. I was collecting US and other countries in addition to my topics (organs, ballet, musical instruments, fire and rescue apparatus {for my kids}). I eventually met (via letter and email) another collector, Judy Stewart, who shared my interest and together we set about updating the check list and adding to it. We completed that in February 2004. Our revision is the one still in use by the ATA. Since we completed the list, there have been several additions; at some point I suppose we'll try to update again, but my ATA membership has lapsed.

Finding stamps on the pipe organ topic is not easy. It's a fairly small niche and stamp dealers are not always overtly interested in the narrow needs of topical collectors. One has to scour a lots of bins to find what one is after. On the other hand I work with a new issue dealer in Maryland who keeps new issues from around the world. They keep me apprised of new issues in the "music" area in general and organs (and my other topics) also. I have found a couple of European dealers who can help with stamp-related material: first-day covers, and stamps on piece (still on the original envelop). Also a little word of mouth goes along way: I heard of the newest organ set from Great Britain via an organist colleague there who was researching an article for an organ journal. With Mark Jameson's help I scored a copy of the journal his article appeared in and a set of the stamps!

Pipe organs on stamps was the topic of an article in the ATA Journal in 1965, written by A.G.K. Leonard. I had an article published there in the Sept-Oct 2004 issue. I also had a short article published in The Baton, the journal of the Philatelic Music Circle in the Summer 2004 issue. More recently Mark Jameson has published the first of what will likely be a series of articles in the Journal of the Organ Club in Great Britain. An article on British cathedral organs appeared in late 2009, and an article for early 2010 will deal with the multi-year, multi-set series of stamps from Luxembourg.

The list of organ stamps developed in 1995 ran to about 100 items. Additions made by me and Judy Stewart make the total about 120 and I personally have added another few stamps (still need to collaborate with Judy to make these official) that brings the total a little higher.

France: "Music"

France issued this stamp (Scott #1625) in 1979 as a simple homage to "Music." The stamp shows a woman playing a stringed instrument across her lamp, with a lyre at her right side and a portativ organ at her left. There are other (male) instrumentalists and singers in the background. Interestingly there are two geese also to the left and right of the woman. The miniature is from the 15th century; that's the only identification given.

Czechoslovakia: Music Year

Czechoslovakia issued this stamp (Scott #2513) 5/11/1984 for "music year." It was part of a small set of two, the other featuring a keyboard, horn and violin,

Interestingly, 1985 was celebrated as a "music year" by the European Union, with many stamps issued by many different countries. 1985 was an anniversary year for the deaths of both Bach and Handel; several of the 1985 music year stamps feature those two composers. So perhaps this stamp was intended to be part of that series, though Czechoslovakia was not then part of the Union, just a few months early.

I cannot find information on the faced pipes in the stamp image. The words make reference to a "Czech museum," but I don't know which one.

New Link

I recently found a page of Bach Stamps at the Bach Cantata site. I have had this site bookmarked for sometime for use in studying the Bach cantatas. It was not until recently, though, that I found the stamp page. It will prove quite helpful, I'm sure. The stamps do not necessarily feature organs, so it's not a duplication of this site.

Congo (Poeple's Republic): Bach

Congo issued this stamp (Scott #511) in 1979, not seemingly related to any anniversary year. The stamp features a Bach portrait as well as an organ and several other instruments. Sometimes foreign countries will include the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig in Bach homage images, but that does not seem to be the case here. A second stamp issued at the same time features Albert Einstein and astronauts on the moon.

Bulgaria: Bach

Bulgaria issued this stamp in 2000. I have it only on a maximum card, meaning the postcard features the same image as the stamp itself. (If you look closely at the image, especially on the left you can make out part of the image of the card.) This stamp was issued for the 250th anniversary of Bach's death. Bach had earlier appeared on a Bulgarian stamp as part of a set of composer stamps in 1985. There is an image of an organ in the background, but I cannot tell what instrument it might be.

Canada: Healy Willan

Canada issued this stamp in 1980 in honor of Healy Willan. It was part of a set of two; the other (same denomination 17c) featured singer Emma Albani (1847-1930). Willan was one of the most important Canadian composers of his generation. He was for years (1921-1968) organist at St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto. Without information on the stamp, one might assume that the console shown is that of the organ at St. Mary's from Willan's era. I've played many of Willan's chorale preludes and one or two of the larger works. I have had choirs work on a couple of his anthems. A nice article about the organ can be found here.

I found this humorous tidbit at Wikipedia: People who remember Willan from his time at St Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by quoting him—it was a mainstay of concert talks by Robert Hunter Bell—as to his provenance: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption."