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4/34 Robert Morton Organ
Ohio Theatre - Columbus, OH
What's in a Number?
Pipe organ builders often stamp the opus number of the instrument on some or all of the pipes in the organ. In addition, the opus number can also be found stamped on other parts of the organ such as the pipe racks, reservoirs, etc. Robert Morton appears to have done things slightly differently.
The Ohio's Morton has several numbers stamped and/or written on specific pipes in each rank, usually the largest pipe in the rank. However, instead of these representing the organ's opus number, they are actually internal Robert Morton job numbers. Some pipes also have additional information such as the pipe builder or a date on it as well. Here is a sample of what is stamped on the various ranks of the organ.
Let's start with 2366, the REAL opus number of the Morton. This would turn out to be one of the last major instruments the builder made.
In the Main Chamber, this Salicional pipe has job number 8366 stamped on it. A.D. March was a pipe builder for Robert Morton. Below his name is etched 15" Pres. A close look within the loop of the letter "P" has the initials GJC.
Here's a typical pipe
stamp which can be found on this instrument. R.S. Eaton is the name of
the person who built the pipe, 8562
is the internal Robert Morton job number, CC is the pitch of the pipe,
DIA stands for Diapason.
The big CCC pipe of the
16' Tuba Mirabilis rank has job number 8565 stamped on it.
This Tibia Clausa pipe in the Solo Chamber has a wealth of information written on it. The job number 8762 is very easy to see, as is the stamp by the Robert Morton pipe department stating it was inspected on 9/26/27. Under the pipe someone has written "8 ft Tibia Yonkers NY", which likely indicates that this was originally built for another installation, but was instead used for this organ.
The 8' Tibia Plena rank in the Solo Chamber bears the job number 9198, as well as writing stating that it is intended for Columbus, Ohio.
Next to 9198 is job number 9199, another chest of the 8' Tibia Plena rank. The builder's plate with the opus number 2366 is also visible.
On the boot of the largest pipe of the 16' Oboe Horn is stamped the job number 9685.
The CC pipe of the Concert Violin I rank has a plethora of information on it. The job number 9688 is on the pipe, as well as an additional identifier noting the rank and city. Harder to discern is that the wind pressure of 15" is etched in the side of the pipe.
This Violin rank has job number 2017 stamped on it, as well as an additional label with 9689 written on it. The wind pressure of 15" can be seen above the #7 on the pipe.
The Horn Diapason rank has job number 9691 stamped on it, as well as the name "E. Tinker". E. Tinker was a pipe maker for Robert Morton. Apparently he thought enough of his work to hand write his name on this pipe!
The CC pipe of the Horn Diapason rank also has job number 9691 stamped on it, but also has the job number and city name written in chalk on the pipe. This pipe was also built by R.S. Eaton.
Some of the pipe racks have numbers stamped on them. This one has the number 2649.
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