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Two Stopped Cuboid Pipes (Koenig)

Koenig Acoustical · Physics

This object consists of two of a set of two wooden cuboid stopped organ pipes of different volumes. Each pipe has a round wooden foot at the base.

The pipes each have two strips of velcro attached one one side.

Accession Number: 2016.ph.723.1-2

Alternative Name:

Primary Materials: Pipe: Pine; Lip, Foot: Mahogany

Markings:

Each pipe is stamped with “RUDOLPH KOENIG À PARIS”.

Each pipe has handwritten on the base, by the foot: “100”. This number corresponds to this object’s entry in Koenig’s 1873 catalogue.

Dimensions (cm):

723.1 = 16.8cm x 11.5 11.3; 723.2 = 12cm x 6.5 x 6.5

Function:

According to David Pantalony’s book “Altered Sensations” (New York, Springer, 2009), these pipes in similar shapes but different sizes are for “studying relations between volume and pitch.” (pg 248).

Condition:

Good. The pipes have a few small scratches and a little wear.

The pipes both have velcro affixed to one side, dating from their use in an interactive display.

Associated Instruments:

Manufacturer: Rudolph Koenig

Date of Manufacture: ca. 1878

Provenance:

These pipes are part of a collection of acoustic teaching apparatus purchased from Rudolph Koenig by University of Toronto professor of physics James Loudon. These pipes were part of Loudon’s initial 1878 purchase, and form part of a comprehensive selection of organ pipes “representing a… demonstration of every possible organ pipe effect.” (Pantalony, Altered Sensations. New York: Springer, 2009. Pg 119-122). These were likely used by students for investigations of acoustical properties at the university’s physics department teaching laboratory.

These pipes were collected from the Department of Physics, after a number had been used for some years as part of an interactive display.

Additional Information and References:

These pipes were originally catalogued separately, one as part of another set.

See also: “Altered Sensations: Rudolph Koenig’s Acoustical Workshop in Nineteenth Century Paris” by David Pantalony (New York: Springer, 2009) in the text’s Catalogue Raisonné under entry #101 (corresponding to Koenig’s 1889 catalogue), pg 248.

Historical Notes:

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