The Volunteer Organist, village church interior scene, circa 1905

Subjects: Churches Interiors Religious & Devotional Life
Card type: Real photo

Back of The Volunteer Organist, village church interior scene, circa 1905, London, England, United Kingdom, real photo postcard — Back

About this postcard

A staged church interior illustrating the poem "The Volunteer Organist": a white-surpliced clergyman stands at the reading desk while a shabbily dressed man walks down the aisle past pews filled with men and women in Edwardian hats and dress, all watching him. Bamforth & Co. of Holmfirth, Yorkshire, was one of the best-known producers of real photographic song cards and lantern slides, issuing series that set popular verses beneath posed scenes. The poem, printed here by permission of W. Paxton of Oxford Street, London, tells of a ragged stranger who replaces the absent organist and plays more sweetly than anyone expected.

Postcard Details

Message

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PublisherBamforth & Co.

BAMFORTH & CO THE VOLUNTEER ORGANIST (1). The preacher in the village Church one Sunday morning said: "Our organist is ill to-day, will some one play instead?" An anxious look crept o'er the face of every person there, As eagerly they watched to see who'd fill the vacant chair. A man then staggered down the aisle whose clothes were old and torn, How strange a drunkard seemed to me in Church on Sunday morn; But as he touched the organ keys, without a single word, The melody that followed was the sweetest ever heard. WORDS BY KIND PERMISSION OF W. PAXTON, OXFORD STREET, LONDON. BAMFORTH & CO --- POST CARD THIS SIDE FOR ADDRESS. Bamforth's Real Photos. Bamforth & Co., Publishers, Holmfirth and New York. (Printed in England).

Addressed to

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Postcard record

Publisher	Bamforth & Co.
Series	The Volunteer Organist (1)
Condition	Good
Place mentioned	London, England
Place mentioned	New York, NY
Publisher	Bamforth & Co., Holmfirth
Notes	Real photographic print with white border; negative number "41/1" in the image; blue ink or paper damage spots at upper left and lower centre of the picture. No postmark — card is unused and unaddressed. Undivided back with printed "POST CARD" heading, "THIS SIDE FOR ADDRESS." and a vertical row of cross ornaments; Bamforth's Real Photos imprint, printed in England. Matte real-photo stock; two small punch holes at the left edge.

Cite this card

The Volunteer Organist, village church interior scene, circa 1905, postcard, n.d.. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/the-volunteer-organist-village-church-interior-scene-circa-1. Accessed October 25, 2026.