In Search of a Historic Mouthpiece: Any ideas?

2008-04-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

We received this question from the owner of a fine mid-restoration Victorian. If anyone has suggestions for him, leave them as comments at the bottom of this post. Thanks, sleuths!

Circa 1900

Howard Hall,

My wife and I have a Victorian that was built in 1895 and for the past two years we've been in the process of rehabbing it. During the course of demo in the kitchen we found the remnants of the old speaking tube system that ran from the kitchen up to the 2nd floor hall. The tubes were intact but the mouthpiece openings had been
patched over and the mouthpieces were nowhere to be found.

I have looked far and wide trying to locate some replacement mouthpieces and have come up empty-handed. We were wondering if you know of any companies and/or salvage yards that might possess parts for our system? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I've included a pic of what I believe was originally installed in my house. The mouth piece has no electric parts. It operates by means of using the thumb to rotate the lever (in order to move the disc out of the way) and then blowing into the tube. The other end also has a disc that acts as a whistle to alert the person on the other end that someone wishes to speak on the "intercom". I think that the mouthpieces were made out of nickel-plated brass and/or porcelain.

I appreciate any help that you could give me.

Thank You for your time,
Vince

Hi Vince,

Well, I must say, that's a new one! Nobody's ever asked us about mouthpieces before. Where are you located? Are you in NY? If you're local, I can give you directions to an antique place I use for really odd item hunting. I don't know the name or number, but the owner is very kind and resourceful. If you leave a phone number and tell him what you're looking for, he can usually find it pretty
quickly. My other suggestion is (with your permission, of course): I can
post your question on our blog. One of the people from the historical societies who follow our website might be able to offer good suggestions. I've found them to be very helpful. Can I do that? It might be of interest to our readers, and one of them may have a lead (or an old one lying around in the attic. You never know...)

Can you send an outside picture of your Victorian? We'd all love to see it..
You might also try asking these people: CLICK HERE Just out of curiosity, how did you hear about us? Well, I'll be in touch with more specific info once I know what part of the country you're in.

Best wishes,
Howard Hall Farm

Circa 2007

Sarah,
Thank You for your quick response. My wife, son and I live in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (directly West of Chicago 25 miles). I found your site after searching the net for possible help. I think that your website was on a link from another salvage/antique in or around NYC. We gladly give you permission to post/publish our info. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. The last two pics are of the original tin tubing that was in our kitchen wall and a mouthpiece photo that I found on the Web.

Vince

CELLAR: KITCHEN

2008-04-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

CELLAR: HALL AND BATH

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CELLAR: WORKSHOP

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CELLAR: FURNACE ROOM

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FIRST FLOOR: FOYER

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FIRST FLOOR: DINING ROOM

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FIRST FLOOR: HALL

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FIRST FLOOR: PARLOR

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FIRST FLOOR: LIBRARY

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FIRST FLOOR STUDY

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BUTLER'S PANTRY

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FIRST FLOOR: PORCH

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SECOND FLOOR: SW BEDROOM

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SECOND FLOOR: NW BEDROOM

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SECOND FLOOR: S BATH

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SECOND FLOOR: HALL

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SECOND FLOOR: N BATH

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SECOND FLOOR: STUDY

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EAST ELEVATION

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pictures go here

WEST ELEVATION

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PICTURES HERE

SOUTH ELEVATION

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PICTURES HERE

NORTH ELEVATION

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PICTURES HERE

THIRD FLOOR

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PICTURES HERE

SECOND FLOOR: NE BEDROOM

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HOWARD HALL FARM RESTORATION

In Search of a Historic Mouthpiece: Any ideas?

CELLAR: KITCHEN

CELLAR: HALL AND BATH

CELLAR: WORKSHOP

CELLAR: FURNACE ROOM

FIRST FLOOR: FOYER

FIRST FLOOR: DINING ROOM

FIRST FLOOR: HALL

FIRST FLOOR: PARLOR

FIRST FLOOR: LIBRARY

FIRST FLOOR STUDY

BUTLER'S PANTRY

FIRST FLOOR: PORCH

SECOND FLOOR: SW BEDROOM

SECOND FLOOR: NW BEDROOM

SECOND FLOOR: S BATH

SECOND FLOOR: HALL

SECOND FLOOR: N BATH

SECOND FLOOR: STUDY

EAST ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION

NORTH ELEVATION

THIRD FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR: NE BEDROOM