General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

7

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

ferrous metal fork/ wood box/ non-ferrous metal nut/ remnant of rubber pad on underside of box/ paper? label

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

24.9 cm

Width

10.7 cm

Height

24.9 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Physics

Category

Acoustics

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Koenig

Country

France

State/Province

Unknown

City

Paris

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

circa late 19th century +

Canada

A piece of French made equipment from the original laboratories of one of Canada's premier research schools. These apparatus derive from the earliest days of physics teaching at Western University in London (1920s). In the late nineteenth century, Canadian scientists such as J.C. McLennan (Canada's first PhD in physics in 1900, U of T) learned the basics of physics using these apparatus. The maker, Rudolph Koenig, was influential in helping Prof. James Loudon establish the first teaching laboratory in Canada in the 1870s and 80s, which was emulated at other schools such as Queen's, Western and McGill. These particular apparatus were probably obtained c. 1920 by Raymond Compton Dearle, who had done a PHD at the University of Toronto under J.C. McLennan. The French connection is also significant. In the late nineteenth century, every college and university in Canada and the United States bought instruments from Paris. They were deemed an essential part of early research and teaching. In the early 1870s, shortly after arriving in Boston, Alexander Bell used the Koenig instruments at MIT for his research on visible speech. He was particularly impressed with the manometric flame instruments and went out of his way to meet Koenig at the 1876 Exhibition in Philadelphia.

Function

An instrument which, when struck, audibly reproduces a note of a definite pitch. This is one of a series of tuning forks, mounted on resonsnce boxes, based on the harmonics of the fundamental ut2, used to demonstrate that one could sympathetically excite a harmonic series with the base note, ut2.

Technical

These tuning forks by Koenig were the highest precision of their day, which were used to standardize pitch across North America and Europe, as well as for precision timing apparatus in physics experiments. This series of forks is based on the harmonics of the fundamental ut2 and demonstrated that one could sympathetically excite a harmonic series with the base note, ut2. Acoustical demonstrations were an enormously popular part of basic science and physics education during the nineteenth century. They were the foundation of fundamental studies in physics, musicology and psychology. Teaching laboratories and conservatories across Europe and North America had large acoustical collections for demonstrating and experimenting with sound phenomena; acoustical instruments were also used extensively for public lectures on "the science of musical sounds." In addition to basic science, physics and psychology, Koenig's acoustical instruments stimulated inventions related to the telephone and phonograph. Alexander Graham Bell used Koenig's manometric and graphical instruments to study "visible speech." Rudolph Koenig (1832-1901) was the most prolific and influential acoustical maker of the nineteenth century. He pioneered graphical and optical acoustics and perfected the making of tuning forks. He began work as a violin maker for J.B. Vuillaume and moved into the precision instrument trade in Paris during its height (1830-1880). His workshop on Quai d'Anjou, which was based on the master artisan model, was a popular meeting place in Paris for scientists, musicians, physicians and science agents.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

indented lettering on tuning fork reads 'MI3/ 640 VS/ K'/ indented black lettering on box reads 'MI3/ RUDOLPH KOENIG/ À PARIS'/ hand written lettering on box reads '320'; handwritten label reads '319'/ white stenciled lettering on box side reads 'P263.30'

Missing

most of rubber feet or padding; tuning fork, .7.

Finish

metallic tuning fork/ light brown wood grain veneer attached to box top, mahogany finish veneer to sides and ends/ black rubber/ white label

Decoration

N/A