Lot Essay
"The boatswain's pipe is a peculiarly shaped whistle, of great antiquity, used by boatswain's mates of warships to pipe orders throughout the ship. A variety of tones can be produced on a pipe, and each order had its own particular call. Up to Tudor times in the English Navy, the pipe, or whistle, often set with jewels, was the personal insignia of the Lord High Admiral, and was worn around the neck on a long gold chain. Since the advent of the Tannoy system of loudspeakers, boatswain's pipes are no longer in general use for promulgating orders and, in the British and some other navies, their only use today is for the ceremonial piping on board of visiting commanding officers and other dignitaries." (The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, edited by Peter Kemp (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1988), p. 92.