Pilcher Brothers (New Orleans)
1893

Paul R. Marchesano on October 14th, 2021:
From *1989 OHS Handbook:* "It appears that Pilcher Bros. of New Orleans installed a basically new - or even all-new - two-manual tracker organ in the Cathedral in 1893. The case, which still exists, was certainly new, and a photograph in The Times-Picayune for Sunday, 5 March 1933, shows what appears to be a detached, possibly reversed, late 19th century American-built keydesk. We do not know how much, if any, of the old organ, whatever it was, may have been incorporated in the 1893 instrument. In 1909, a bomb exploded "on the choir steps" of the Cathedral, "damag-ing the organ." Repairs were made by Adolph Rive, Sr., and his brother-in-law Joseph Schrenk, assisted by August Laine. "In 1933, according to The Times-Picayune article of 5 March, the old organ was rebuilt; the resulting instrument was said to have about 3,500 pipes, with about 700 pipes ''kept from the old organ." (The other old pipes were to "be installed in an organ to be placed in the chapel of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.") The work was done by Adolph Rive, Jr., and Emile Rive, again as-sisted by August Laine, their shop foreman. Now, what actually happened in 1933 was that Austin Op. 868, 1919, a three-manual instrument of about 11 ranks, originally built for the New Orleans residence of F. J. Foxely, was installed inside the 1893 Pilcher case. Whether any pipes from the Pilcher were substituted for Austin pipes, we do not know."