Posted by Lew on June 17, 2002 at 16:10:50:
In Reply to: Hi-Pitch / Lo-Pitch / A440 - When?? posted by Marty Neilan on June 17, 2002 at 12:17:25:
I remember reading about an act of Congress setting pitch at A=440 in the United States around 1921. I can't find the reference right now. I have a Lyon & Healy catalog from the 1890s that lists low pitch instruments at A=435 and high pitch at A=452. I also have a Holton catalog from 1924 that says that instruments are supplied with low pitch slides, but offers an option of high pitch instruments with low pitch slides included, but they don't define what either means. Obviously there was still some level of demand for high pitch instruments in 1924. The 1939 date may be right for international standards, but any instruments that I have owned or played from the 1930s or later have all been A=440.