victorian speaking tube
hey all, I was looking at a funny plaster-covered thing sticking out of my wall, which I had always assumed to be a plugged gaslight, and a little poking uncovered the mouthpiece of a brass speaking tube (this is in the back parlor of a 1905 limestone). The other end was presumably buried in the…
hey all,
I was looking at a funny plaster-covered thing sticking out of my wall, which I had always assumed to be a plugged gaslight, and a little poking uncovered the mouthpiece of a brass speaking tube (this is in the back parlor of a 1905 limestone). The other end was presumably buried in the kitchen wall downstairs, so with a little sleuthing and shouting down the tube to a partner, I guesstimated the spot in the wall ad bored out a hole. Unbelievably the end of the tube was still there, plastered over and buried under sheetrock. I assume it was covered over when the house was split up into apartments, and went the way of its dumbwaiter companion (which has now been converted to utility closets, its pulley still buried in the crawlspace.)
Anyway, has anyone else made similar discoveries? Were they commonly used? And is there any place to get a matching mouthpiece for the downstairs end of the tube?
My father grew up on Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn in the 1920’s. He built the house I grew up in 1962 (in another city) and installed a talking tube because he thought it was such a handy idea from his childhood. All my friends had electronic intercom systems but we had a talking tube. I’m glad to hear that some still exist in his home turf.
I posted this on my site. It may contain some more info for ya:
http://reclaimedhome.com/2008/05/13/victorian-speaking-tube/
send a pic i want to see what this looks like, i have some weird things in some apartments, Im interested in seeing this!!!
That is awesome. Great find!
We also had one which we used until a kitchen renovation. The cups were badly broken so we threw them out. Try Ebay for the cups.
There’s the same thing in my home, which dates from about 1905 as well. There are two tubes that end in the kitchen. Covering each tube in the kitchen is a hinged metal disc with a small hole in its center. One open ended tube starts on the wall in the the library on the parlor floor and another starts on the hallway wall on the bedroom floor. If you blow into the open ended part of the tube, a whistling sound is made by the disc covered end in the kitchen. If the disc end is opened, a conversation can be had. Initiation of a conversation is meant to be one way only, towards the kitchen. This early intercom still functions. I’ve seen similar devices in movies that depict older steam ships, with the captain at the helm communicating with the engine room. If the tube is still intact there’s no reason not to be able to hear someone at the other end. The somewhat small cup shaped combination mouth/ear piece seems to be made out of porcelain.