Two of a set of two rectangular organ pipes of the same size and shape. 2016.ph.729.2 is lined on the inside with dense beige cloth. Both pipes have a round foot at the base.
Accession Number: 2016.ph.730.1-2
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Fabric, Wood: Pine, Mahogany
Each pipe stamped with “RUDOLPH KOENIG À PARIS”.
Each pipe has “94” written on the base of the pipe in ink. This number refers to this set’s entry in Koenig’s 1873 catalogue.
2016.ph.730.1 has “512 1/2” scratched and then inked onto one side.
Each pipe has a white, handwritten label stuck near the mouthpiece end. 730.1 reads “PHY 1 eeee”; 730.2 reads “PHY 1 jjj”.
Dimensions (cm): Length=43cm, Height=5cm, Width4.2cm
According to David Pantalony’s book “Altered Sensations” (New York: Springer, 2009): “Lining the inside of a pine pipe changes the tone.” (pg 244).
Good. There is some wear along the edges of both pipes from use. The fabric inside 729.2 is somewhat discoloured but is in good condition where visible.
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 95b (pg 244).
Historical Notes:
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