<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=2>List,</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Today an older gentleman at our church gave me 3 old = tuning forks that had belonged to his wifes uncle, a piano tuner.  I am = curious to know  their approximate age, and also what, if anything, they tell = us about the history of pitch standards.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>The largest, (and probably the youngest) fork = is 125 mm overall length, with tines about 5mm x 6mm.  It is = stamped"DEAGAN  CHICAGO", "A=440", "OFFICIAL PITCH A.F. OF M. 1917", and "ADOPTED BY = U.S. GOVT. 1920".  </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>The next smaller fork is 110mm overall, with tines = about 4mm by 5mm.  It is stamped "INTERNATIONAL PITCH C 517.3" (which is the frequency of C52 when A49 is at 435).</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>The smallest fork is the same length, 110mm, but the = tine cross section is 2mm by 5mm, and the 2mm dimenstion is very irregular as = if it had been shaped by hand.  Probably due to the irregular = cross-section and/or small size, it's sustain time is very short. It is stamped "PHILHARMONIC", and "A".  This fork is about 16 cents sharp of 440.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Are there any good written resources for learning = more about the history of these forks, or their makers?  Anybody out there old = enough to have personal knowledge?</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>thanks</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>