antique pair of 'pitch pipes', once used for tuning pipe organs

OK...gotta start this out by admitting that I do *not* know exactly by who, where, or how long ago these were first made and used -- however, I absolutely *do* know what they are, how they would have been used, and at least kinda-sorta when...? :-)

Physically, they are both small metal organ pipes (roughly 12" long) each contained within a beautifully made felt lined turned wooden tube with close fitting stopper. The pipes are both made as 'diapason-scaled' examples (this simply means they both produce a clear, easy to hear tone) and are voiced and permanently set to play a single very precisely tuned note. (at a given temperature and air pressure, that is) Each pipe has a white leather band glued and shellacked (probably) around its upper portion, hand-inked with its specific parameters.

Throughout the 1800's and into the 1900's, pitch pipes like this would have been used mostly by craftsmen in process of first constructing (or re-constructing) pipe organs. One of these would be temporarily placed within an instrument (at correct pressure and temperature) to provide the "pitch reference" starting point which the organ tuner could use to begin a long, complex process of matching/tuning all the rest of its pipes to. [by the mid 1900's, we had machines to do it much quicker/better...nowadays I have an "app" on my phone...<groan>]

These two are actually a pair that are nearly identical -- though in fact they are set to play ever-so-slightly differing notes. ALSO back in the 1800's+, the professional musicians (and instrument makers) of the time (largely orchestral of course but pipe organs too, in the USA and Europe) hadn't really yet settled on a single "standard tuning pitch" -- depending on who was where playing what, the two most common were called either "INTERNATIONAL" or "PHILHARMONIC" pitch. What *that* means, in a nutshell, that the "middle A" note (on a piano, or whatever instrument) would be tuned to either "435 cycles-per-second" OR "440 cycles-per-second". Seems like 5cps shouldn't make that much difference but TRUST ME, IT DOES -- most any single instrument by itself would play fine either way, but if any two (or more) are gonna play together, they've ABSOLUTELY gotta ALL be either one or the other...!!

These two pipes, respectively, are labeled: "PITCH - A - 440 3 1/2" PRESSURE 69[deg] PHILHARMONIC C" and "PITCH - A - 435 3 1/2" PRESSURE 69[deg] INTERNATIONAL C". My best guess, based on how both the pipes and tubes are made, is that they probably date from the latter 1800's to early 1900's.