Altered Sensations

• Introduction. Workshops in the history of science. Showroom: The business of instrument making. Laboratory: Instrument making and experimentation. Life as an instrument maker. Sound in history. 1 – Training. 2 – Hermann von Helmholtz and the Sensations of Tone. 3 – Transformations in the workshop. 4 – The market and its influences. 5 – Constructing a reputation, 1866-1879. 6 – Expanding the North American Market, 1871-1882. 7 – The Faraday of sound. Conclusion – Beyond Sensations. Appendix 1. Key dates in Rudolph Koenig’s life. Catalogue Raisonné. Notes. References.

From the reviews: "Altered Sensations should of course be read by those with an interest in the science of sound and its development ... . a valuable resource for anyone seeking to identify nineteenth-century acoustic apparatus and indeed could serve as inspiration for anyone presenting physical acoustics demonstrations today. ... The volume is well endowed with scholarly endnotes to each chapter and a comprehensive bibliography; it is liberally illustrated ... ." (Tacye Phillipson, ISIS, Vol. 102 (4), 2011) Pantalony's work offers historians of technology and science and STS scholars an invaluable study of Rudolph Koenig's nineteenth-century acoustical workshop. In so doing, he explores in exquisite detail the importance of musical-instrument making to the production of scientific instruments and the crucial influence of market forces on Koenig's work. Rather than merely limiting himself to written sources, Pantalony forges a historical narrative based on a reading of the instruments themselves, in a sense providing us with an archaeology of artifacts. He also deftly recounts how crucial Koenig's instruments were to the development of nineteenth-century acoustics. This book superbly fills a tremendous gap in the secondary literature. Myles W. Jackson, Professor of the History of Science, The Gallatin School, New York University