The reading room at the OHS Library and Archives.
About
Founded in 1961, the Library and Archives of the Organ Historical Society is America’s preeminent research institution devoted exclusively to the study of pipe organs, their history and construction, as well as those who play them and compose for them.
OHSLA Guidelines
Collections Development Policy
Hours
Hours are by appointment only, and may be made by contacting the OHS archivist at archives@organhistoricalsociety.org.
Holdings
- 12,000 books about organs, organ building, organists, and organ music
- 450 periodical titles, including the largest body of organ serials anywhere
- 400 dissertations about organs, organ builders, organists, and organ music
- 20,000 organ stoplists, photographs, and dedication programs
- 1,500 sales brochures, catalogs, and promotional publications from hundreds of organ builders and firms
- 500 nameplates from various organ builders and firms
- 5,000 Organ Postcards
- 15,000 Organ Photographs
- Records of the American Institute of Organ builders, as well as business records, tools, and correspondence of American organ building firms such as the Möller organ company, among many others
Virtual Exhibits
Ernest Martin Skinner Letters to Raymond Kosanke
A Personal Correspondence Between a Budding Organist and an American Master
“There Shall Be No More Night There“
The Faded Chronicle of Legendary Organist, David Duffle Wood
Location
OHS Library and Archives
330 North Spring Mill Road
Villanova, PA 19085 – 1737
(484) 488-PIPE (7473)
Printed materials are housed in dedicated rooms on the second floor of Stoneleigh, the former estate of the Haas Family in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Special Collections, primarily consisting of the archives and business records of numerous American organ builders, are located in climate-controlled rooms on the third floor. Unprocessed archival materials are located at a storage facility in Warminster, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb.
Contact
The OHS Mission Statement
The Organ Historical Society celebrates, preserves, and studies the pipe organ in America in all its historic styles, through research, education, advocacy, and music.
The Organ Historical Society
330 North Spring Mill Road
Villanova, PA 19085 – 1737
(484) 488-PIPE (7473)
mail@organhistoricalsociety.org