The Vintage Home Feature That's Nonexistent Today

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Nowadays, it seems like there's an app, website, or service to get anything you need at just the touch of a button. But once upon a time, when people relied on household help, that wasn't the reality. You might ask how anyone got anything done without the assistance of the technology we have today. One of the vintage home features that brought help to upper-class households was servant bells.

Sounds like something from a distant past, right? Servant bells, or butler bell boards, were once a fixture in households that used live-in staff. But how did they work exactly? This simple signal system consisted of various pull-knobs located in essential rooms in the home, such as the bedroom, the dining room, or even the library. That would be connected to a bell that resided somewhere else in the home, such as the household staff's main quarters. Bell pitches would often be distinguished from one another to be able to tell which room was ringing. Then, when the pull was tugged, the connected bell would ring, alerting staff to the room that called. It was an efficient way to get staff attention, without having to physically call for help or leave a certain part of the house. 

Although once a useful feature of many homes, these servant bell boards have mainly been left behind. In fact, the last of them disappeared from homes around the early 1900s as live-in household staff started to become a thing of the past for the masses. However, some places, such as the White House, still have these antique fixtures installed in their spaces, even if they aren't being used any longer. They're kept around because their decor appeal has stood the test of time. Having your own wouldn't necessarily mean you'd use it for function, but to bring some historic appeal to your home, as you would with any antique. It's also a charming decor item that'll elevate your home and never go out of style.

When finding your own version of this antique, it may not come about in the way you'd expect. You mainly would be able to find one from old estate sales, or any that have been removed from Victorian home renovations. If you want an easier way to find them, you might consider online marketplaces that sell out-of-the-ordinary antiques like salvaged furniture antique stores or places like Olde Good Things. Etsy even has ones like this set of 5 reclaimed, refurbished bells. However, these range from $200 to $2000, depending on whether you want originals or not.