Speaking Tubes

[Sargeguy]

I am looking for information about speaking tubes.  My 1928 house had a speaking tube which ran from the front door to the hallway upstairs.  My mother lived there as a child and vaguely remembers it.  The tube is still there but the mouthpiece/earpieces on each end are not.  I assume these had no whistle mechanism, since people would use the doorbell.  I am hoping to restore it but I don't even know where to begin.

[McHeath]

Wow, that's a cool feature.  I have no idea how to help you with this, but I certainly hope you can get it back in usable condition.  Got any pictures to post?

[Sargeguy]

Nope I just have a hole in the wall and a hole by the doorbell.  I think the tubes are still intact however.  I will look through the family photo album and see what I can dig up.

[bingster]

If the tubes are still intact in the walls, you might pick up one of these:

http://www.knobsandthings.com/1/1/7524-byron-bells-3-x-12-4-x-8-speaking-tube-electrical-bell-push-1218pb.html

[Sargeguy]

Thanks.  That appears to be the only one available.  I will have to check with my Mom to see if that "rings a bell".  Other than that, and a YouTube video showing the whistle type in old movies, I can't find any info.  I did find other people who are looking for parts.  I had better luck in my search for intercoms:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260313242821#ebayphotohosting ( dead link 03-27-21 )

[Mark Stevens]

Thanks.  That appears to be the only one available.  I will have to check with my Mom to see if that "rings a bell".  Other than that, and a YouTube video showing the whistle type in old movies, I can't find any info.  I did find other people who are looking for parts.  I had better luck in my search for intercoms:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260313242821#ebayphotohosting

It seems to me that if you want to really do it up right, you should find original parts, not reproductions.  I don't know what's available in your area, but in Fort Worth there is (or was) a couple of places that specialized in stocking both original and reproduction parts, specifically for homes from the teens and twenties.  Have you tried eBay?  I think you can get anything there!  Just my two cents.  Which ever way you go it'll be cool!

[Dan/Panther]

Sargeguy;
Tell us how you ended up living in the same house your Mom lived in as a child. It doesn't appear that it's been in the family ?
D/P

[Sargeguy]

It's always been in the family, my Mom moved out in 1964 and I moved back in in 94.  My grandmother lived in it in between until her death in 1994.  My great uncle owned the other half of the house until he died in 2003, when I bought it from my Mom and his heirs. The speaking tubes were in the cousins half of the house, and anyone who knew about them is dead.