This privacy device communicated messages that were as private as an Egyptian chamber and there wasn’t a way to hack them and decipher what was being said or heard. Not only homes and offices used this technology but also airplanes and fine automobiles such as the 1927 Rolls Royce Phantom, so the drivers and passengers were able to communicate with each other.
In domestic applications, voicepipes were smaller and referred to as “speaking tubes”. The ends of the tube were often flexible for convenience of use. The speaking tube supplemented the array of remotely controlled hand bells that were operated in the upstairs rooms and rang in the servant’s quarters in even modest houses in the 19th century.
Speaking tubes were employed in some offices, with whistles at either end and were therefore also known as whistling tubes. Several speaking tubes could be hung from the edge of a desk to communicate with different locations.
Check our beautifully restored model from Weylin’s main room. It is all polished and revived brass with the carved Williamsburgh Savings Bank monogram designed by Peter Bonnett Wight.
To see more of our unique restoration process, visit RESTORATION.