The Volunteer Organist, church interior, circa 1905

About this postcard

The image shows the interior of a stone church during a service. A clergyman in a white surplice stands at a reading desk beside a large, dark wood organ console, and the pews are filled with men, women in broad hats, and boys seated nearest the camera. The printed caption names the scene "The Volunteer Organist (3)," and the verse says the organist "Had told his own life's tale"; the congregation weeps, and the preacher's sermon cannot compare with the example of the man in the organ chair. Bamforth & Co. of Holmfirth, England, was a prolific publisher of real-photo song and recitation cards in the early 1900s.