Pipe Organ Database

From the OHS PC Database, derived from A Guide to North American Organbuilders by David H. Fox (Organ Historical Society, 1991). -

Born 7 Feb. 1858 in Bensheim, Germany; father of Arthur and Clarence E. Wirsching; graduate of the University of Würzburg, Germany; immigrated to U.S., 1886; established Wirsching Organ Co. of Salem, OH, 1888; with Farrand & Votey of Detroit, MI, 1894-1896; with W. W. Kimball firm of Chicago, IL, c. 1896-1898; operated firm in Salem, OH, 1898-1917; sold firm to son Clarence E. Wirsching and Eugene Martin Binder as Wirsching- Binder Co., 1917, in charge of construction, firm closed 1919; with Wangerin-Weickhardt firm of Milwaukee, WI, 1919; with successor Wangerin firm, 1922-1926; died 10 Dec. 1926 in Salem, OH.

Patents Held:

• Patent #518,980; 1 May 1894; pipe organ     Patent #560,559; 19 May 1896; windchest for pipe organ
• Patent #836,907; 27 Nov. 1906; pneumatic windchest     Patent #840,408; 1 Jan. 1907; pneumatic pouch
• Patent #865,467; 10 Sep. 1907; multipressure bellows     Patent #1,072,198; 2 Sep. 1913; pneumatic action

Sources:

• The Diapason April, 1919, 15.
• The Diapason January 1927, 1.
• The Diapason July 1937, 6.
•  

Philipp Wirsching was born February 7, 1858 in Bensheim, Germany; he was the father of Arthur Wirsching and Clarence E. Wirsching. He was a graduate of the University of Würzburg, Germany; he immigrated to United States in 1886. He established his own firm and also worked for several other builders in the Midwest. Philipp Wirsching died December 10, 1926 in Salem, Ohio.

Two years after his arrival in the U.S., Wirsching established Wirsching Organ Co. of Salem, Ohio in 1888 and operated it there for six years. He was with Farrand & Votey of Detroit, Michigan, 1894-1896 and then with W. W. Kimball firm of Chicago, Illinois, c. 1896-1898. He was again operating his own firm in Salem by 1898, the firm was incorporated in 1905, and continued under him until 1917 when he sold the firm to his son Clarence E. Wirsching and partner Eugene Martin Binder. The new partnership was renamed Wirsching-Binder Co., the elder Wirsching stayed on and was in charge of construction until the firm closed in 1919. Wirching then relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and started with Wangerin-Weickhardt the same year; he stayed on with the successor firm, Wangerin from 1922 until his death in 1926.

Sources:

• The Diapason April, 1919, 15.
• The Diapason Jan. 1927, 1.
• The Tracker , 6.
•