Two of a set of three rectangular organ pipes of the same size and shape, but with different width mouthpiece and lip. 2016.ph.729.1 has a wider lip, 2016.ph.729.2 has a narrower lip. Both pipes have a round foot at the base.
Accession Number: 2016.ph.729.1-2
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Wood: Pine
Each pipe is stamped with RUDOLPH KOENIG À PARIS.
Each pipe has “86” handwritten in ink on the base by the mouthpiece. This number refers to the set’s entry in Koenig’s 1873 catalogue.
A white handwritten sticker on 729.1 reads “PHY 1 qqq”. A similar sticker on 729.2 reads “PHY 1 sss” This perhaps dates from an earlier catalogue.
728.1: Length=43cm, Width=4.3, Height=5.0 lip width=2.7cm; 728.2 Length=43cm Width=4.3cm, Height=5cm, Lip Width=1.9cm
According to the Catalogue Raisonee in David Pantalony’s book “Altered Sensations” (New York: Springer, 2009): “As the width of the mouthpiece increases, the pitch rises.” (pg 242-243).
Good. The pipes have some wear on the edges and on the feet from use. One pipe of this set of three is missing.
Associated Instruments:
Manufacturer: Rudolph Koenig, Paris
Date of Manufacture: ca. 1878
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.
These pipes were originally given separate accession numbers. When re-catalogued together, a document was created that provides information on original accession numbers and other transition information. A paper copy of this document, as of the end of August 2016, is stored in the 2016 file in UTSIC’s paper archive and in each pipe set’s folder.
See Also: David Pantalony’s “Altered Sensations: Rudolph Koenig’s Acoustical Workshop in Nineteenth Century Paris” (New York: Springer, 2009) in the text’s Catalogue Raisonné under the entry “93” (pg 242-243).
Historical Notes:
Themes: