US pipe organ stamps?

Update winter 2023: I started writing this come time ago and never finished it. I am not why certain. I hope it can stand on its own as it is. 

Recently, in his on-going series of articles on pipe organ stamps for the Organ Club Journal (UK), Mark Jameson covered postal items from the US. While he mentioned several items of interest, there were no specifically pipe-organ related stamps issued by the USPS. In my opinion the closest thing was a pre-paid postal card issued in 1990. However the card featured specifically Orchestra Hall in Chicago, IL. The card was part of a much larger (longer) series of postal cards celebrating important architecture in the US. The presence of the organ facade on stage, visible from the seats, was coincidental for this particular card.

This evening I was reading an article on the restoration of the Kotchmer Memorial Organ in Portland, Maine, found in the most recent issue of The Tracker, journal of the Organ Historical Society here in the US. The author as part of the summation proclaimed that the instrument was of such stature that it should be considered a national treasure. That got me thinking, once again, about what pipe organs I would select to be celebrated on a hypothetical set of stamps to be issued sometime in the future by the USPS.

There is plenty of organ history in the US from the earliest instruments in New England to the very large and important series of music hall installations in recent years. Herewith my selections, totally personal, for inclusion in a set of postage stamps celebrating the pipe organ in the US, listed in order of priority, for a set of 4, 5, 6 or more stamps.

First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.fccla.org/music.html
http://theatreorgans.com/laird/top.pipe.organs.html


Atlantic City Music Hall, NJ
http://www.boardwalkhall.com/organs.asp

US Naval Academy, West Point, NY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Point_Cadet_Chapel

Oldest organ in VA
http://www.classical.net/music/inst/organ.php
http://www.historicstlukes.org/history/collections/

Wanamaker Organ, Macy's Department Store, PA
http://www.wanamakerorgan.com/


Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/about/organs?lang=eng

Kotzschmar Organ, Portland Town Hall, ME
http://www.foko.org/
http://foko.org/kotzschmar/about-the-organ/

Fisk, Meyerson, Dallas, TX
http://www.kimmelcenter.org/facilities/organ/about.php

Dobson, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA
http://www.kimmelcenter.org/facilities/organ/about.php

Glatter-Gotz, Disney Hall,Los Angeles, CA
http://disneyhallorgan.com/

Casavant, Kauffman Center, Kansas City, MO
http://www.kauffmancenter.org/the-center/venues/helzberg-hall/the-organ/

Bhutan anniversary of Titian revised painting

 

Vanus and a certain organ player certainly do ger around! In addition to this painting, there is a similar work, on a slightly smaller scale. Differences in details abound, soon too many to enumerate. The present stamp is unusual in that it seems to an unlikely figure in the larger scope of the painting; but we thereby ger a nice, detailed look at the organ. There is still not enough information to know any details about the instrument. 

Canada Prince and Princess 2011

 

Canada issued the two version of this pane in 2011 for the royal wedding. The only different difference seems to be the presence of a crest (or not) in the supper portion. The stamp features the royal couple, some verbiage, and a picture of the interior of the cathedral. There is some verbiage and a barcode lower on the front. The case of the organ in the facility happens to make it into the image. The stamps are not summed, 

Art Work, 1997 Gambia

 

This set of stamps slipped past me to a while. I didn't realize if was around for a couple of years. The set us notable for the fact that two organ related stamps are part of the sets. The stamps are reproductions of paintings by various artists. "Angel playing the organ" and "The Graham children" both include representations of organs. Six of the stamps have fairly standard formats. The Hogarth stamp is slightly larger than usual.  My caroler has misidentified the two larger stamps. One is by Lepicie the by Hogarty. Cats feature on the two single-stamp panes. 

Guinea-Bissau, Mozart Memorial

 

Guinea-Bissau issued this stamp in honor of the birth of Amadeus Mozart in 2016, the 260th anniversary of his birth. The stamp pictures a musical salon scene with participants/listeners and perhaps a clergyperson in the rear of the scene.  In the background is an inset picture of Mozart which includes an image of a pipe organ. Another performer is playing an additional keyboard instrument, a piano or harpsichord perhaps. The stamp seems to show a fairly specific organ, though I cannot determine what instrument it may be. I would be happy to hear suggestions. 

Shift of focus

I was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer in 2022. I have had to curtail come of my collecting activities. I am trying to catch up with that I already have and get things sorted and out away. You may notice differences as I hurry to post to this blog items that I have already. 

Guinea-Bissau: Bach Anniversary

 

Guinea-Bissau issued this stamp in 2010 to mark the 260th anniversary of the death of JS Bach. The stamp is a single high-value stamp, issued along with a set of five smaller stamps of the composer with various musical instrument, in various poses and in various denominations (not shown). There does not appear to be any specific connection between the composer, and anyone related to Guinea-Bissa. The stamp includes an image of the composer in profiles, and a second contrasting image. In the latter, the composer is seated at an organ console.  In the background is a portion of a console-style piano which would not be appropriate for the time period of the composer. There is some manner of crest near the composer; someone more versed in the topic may know if it's accurate or not. 

Music Boxes, France 2015

 

Francs issued this small sheet of stamps in 2015. If seems that these are each small music boxes. One of them is an ornate pipe organ. The description tells us only, "the organ clock." Once can assume that there is a wind-up mechanism within that provides music of some sort and perhaps some motions. The stamp is gummed, part of a set of 6, and each are denominated .68 Euros. It was issued in 2015. There is a large bar code in the lower left corner presumably for tracking and sales information. The reverse of the sheet is completely blank. I have not tried to identify the location of the various instruments.