Candlestick telephone
The candlestick telephone (or pole telephone) is a style of telephone that was common from the late 1890s to the 1940s. A candlestick telephone is also often referred to as a desk stand, an upright, or a stick phone. Candlestick telephones featured a mouthpiece (transmitter) mounted at the top of the stand, and a receiver (earphone) that was held by the user to the ear during a call. When the telephone was not in use, the receiver rested in the fork of the switch hook protruding to the side of the stand, thereby disconnecting the audio circuit from the telephone network.
Design and features
Candlestick telephones were designed with varying features. Most recognizable, candlesticks featured a base with a vertical cylindrical neck extending upright for up to 10 inches (25 cm) in length. At the top of the stand was mounted a carbon microphone (transmitter) to speak into, and a switch hook extending sideways upon which an earpiece (receiver) was hung. To make or answer a telephone call, the user lifted the receiver off the switch hook, activating an internal switch connecting the telephone to the telephone line. Candlestick telephones required the nearby installation of a subscriber set (subset, ringer box), which housed the ringer to announce incoming calls and the electric circuitry (capacitor, induction coil, signaling generator, connection terminals) to connect the set to the telephone network. When automatic telephone exchanges were introduced, the base of a candlestick also featured a rotary dial, used for signaling the telephone number of the call recipient.
Production
Candlestick telephone models were produced by many manufacturers. The main producers of these telephones were
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An early 20th-century candlestick telephone in use -
An American candlestick telephone being used by Genevieve Clark Thomson, circa 1915.
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Successor telephones
When Western Electric had sufficiently developed modern handset design in the 1920s, the Western Electric candlesticks were superseded by a series of new desktop models of
Accessories
The Hush-A-Phone was an accessory for candlestick telephones, similar in appearance to a miniature megaphone, created in 1920 for slipping over the candlestick phone. It was intended to reduce noise pollution and increase privacy during calls. [2][3]
See also
References
- ^ "Western Electric #20B Desk Phone". Antique Telephone History. US. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
- ^ Lienhard, John H. "No. 1222: Breaking the Monopoly". US: University of Houston. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
- ^ "Telephone History... Antique Telephone & Collector's Items". US: Sandman. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
External links
