Gambia: Goofy 60th (Disney)

Many small nations have produced "wallpaper" stamps to generate income (sales of collectible topical stamps to dealers and collectors). Gambia is among those nations, and "Disney" is one of the most highly regarded of topics. This stamp (Scott 1295) is a prime example. I am fairly certain it exists only to generate income for the Gambian postal authority. The stamp is part of a set of eight issued around the time of the 60th anniversary of the introduction of the "Goofy" character in Disney films. Each of the eight stamps includes this cartoon dog's image in a scene from various films. The current stamp is from "Mickey's Amateurs" from 1937. Goofy appears at about 5:50 into the 8:40 film, pulling a menagerie of instruments, including a collection of pipes. Goofy's is the last of a series of musical acts offered by various familiar characters.

Austria: Musikfreunde

Austria issued this stamp 1 January 2012 commemorating the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (Association for the Friends of Music in Vienna) and its 100th anniversary. The round stamp is striking for its gold-colored central image sharply contrasting with the red border. The stamp was issued as a single stamp in a mini-sheet, denominated 90c. The stamp shows the organ in its gallery in the Musikverein in Vienna, the organ facade and a nude female figure from the casework. This instrument has been on Austrian stamps before. This then would be the new Rieger instrument installed within the original case in 2011-2012. This article discusses the instrument in detail. Rieger gives some additional information and pictures here.

Burundi: Bach, 2013

The African nation of Burundi issued this pair of items in 2013. They are part of a larger set that included Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Wagner, Schubert, and Verdi. For each composer there is a mini-sheet of a set of 4 stamps, plus a souvenir sheet that includes a single additional stamp. These composers had no direct relationship with the issuing nation. As such their relevance to Burundi is non-existent. Therefore, they fall into the category of "wallpaper," postal items issued simply to make money for the postal administration from collectors who feel compelled to gather items according to their philatelic interests. In my case it's the organ on the stamp from the mini-sheet of 4. The stamp is denominated 1190 francs. It shows Bach at the console of an un-named instrument, a reference to the common image found purportedly at the British Museum.  The other stamps show the composer at various stages of life, in one case playing a stringed instrument. These are so new that my Scott catalog doesn't include them yet.

Russia: Moscow Cathedral

 

Russia issued this stamp 12 July 2001 as part of a set of 14 stamps featuring houses of worship of various denominations and faiths. In addition to a central image of the facility the stamp includes half-tone images of key features of the facility to the left and right and at the top. In this case a crucifix and a rose window are at top and right. The left image is another window but also the organ. Scott 6649 is interesting for its orientation. The stamps presents as a diamond rather than a square or rectangle; it's denominated 2.5 rubles.

The cathedral was begun in 1901 and was completed in 1911. An organ was installed during that early history, but was cryptically "taken by the state in 1938." An electronic organ was installed in 1999. One is left to wonder if the cathedral did without an organ for the intervening 6-year period. In 2002 momentum began to build for a new pipe organ for the cathedral.

The cathedral's pipe organ was built in 1955 by Orgelbau Kuhn AG of Männedorf, Switzerland, for the Reformed Evangelical Basel Münster Cathedral in Basel, Switzerland. The Swiss cathedral donated the organ, dismantled it in 2002, and all pipes but without the largest — Nr. 65 principal bass 32 '​, 10 m (32 ft) long — were transferred to Moscow. The pipes were transported wrapped in new garments donated by the people of Basel, which were later distributed to Moscow's poor. The installation of the pipe organ in Moscow was performed by the Orgelbau Schmid company from Kaufbeuren, Germany, headed by Gerhard Schmid, who refused payment for his work. During the work, Schmid was killed in a fall from a scaffold on 9 September 2004; his son Gunnar finished the work (The single pipe remained in Switzerland and was incorporated into that cathedral's new organ; a replacement was made for the installation in Moscow.)

The Peter and Paul parish was formally dissolved by the communist government in 1929, and celebrating mass was forbidden. The church lost much of its surrounding gardens in 1935—a school was built there the following year—and the church was finally closed on 30 July 1938 (the St. Peter and Paul church had met the same fate nine days earlier). The church was plundered after its closure, and many items, including the main altar and the organ, were irretrievably lost. The church was used for several months as a vegetable store, and was then reconstructed as a hostel and its interior divided into four floors.

Pictures of the Kuhn organ in Moscow Cathedral make it clear that this instrument is not the one shown on the stamp. I have been able to find no information on the earlier pipe organ other than the tantalizing tidbit recorded above. One wonders about its manufacture but also about its fate.

Sweden: Christmas 1980

Sweden issued this stamp for Christmas on 18 November 1980. It shows a form of artistic representation of an angel blowing a horn.Scott 1339 was issued as a booklet stamp, not the more common coil format.

For years I have heard that this stamp's design is based on case decoration on a specific pipe organ in Sweden. At this point I don't remember who has said such, or where I might have read it. I have never found any confirmation of this however. I would love to know the details behind the stamp's design. I think I will try to determine who designed the stamp and see if it's possible to contact them. I am willing to concede that the decoration may not be organ-related at all.

Mexico: University (UNAM)

The Universidad Nacional de Mexico (UNAM) celebrated its hundredth anniversary in 2010. The postal service commemorated the celebrate with the issuance of a six-stamp mini-sheet showing various historical and contemporary aspects of the university. First among these is a stamp showing the Simon Bolivar Auditorium at the inauguration of the school. Obvious at the rear of the stage is a pipe organ. Very little is known about the instrument. Through some international sleuthing Mark Jameson has come up with the following information (from his OCJ article (#11) covering organ/stamps from Mexico):

With the help of a number of members of OHS, and an appeal on the Facebook page of Organs of Mexico, I had a response from Jesús Bernal of the University of Mexico: “You are seeing [above] a superimposed fake facade over the real organ behind. It was a 1902 Schlag organ bought for the National Conservatory because the Amphiteater was used for many concerts as a second Conservatory auditorium. This organ was unfortunately destroyed in the 1980s.” As the organ builder went out of business in 1923 we are not likely to find what the covered organ was, unless someone has a specification. It was a long search that led to the making of many contacts and finding out a lot more about Mexican organs.

Sadly unless one can find a concert program perhaps, we are likely to never know the specification of this instrument. The sheet of six stamps is SCN 2695, the individual stamps are a, b, c and on the second row, d, e, f. All of the stamps are denominated $7.

I found this image for the music department at the university. One wonders if the arched opening in the wall is the very one shown in the stamp, with the non-speaking facade filling most of it?

The Mexican post office also issued a 100-label charity pane showing many of the same elements from the postal-use pane. The funds raised were designated to tuberculosis relief.

 

The sheet is quite large, not quite fitting on my scanning device.