The Chau-Phone

Today’s collection item is from a series of advertisements. I love looking at old advertisements because I love to see change over time, especially when it comes to products that are still in existence today. I also enjoy looking at them because I learn about things that no longer exist, but were once deemed a necessity or have evolved into something else.

Western Electric Company was started in 1872 and was purchased by Bell Telephone Company in 1881. It is odd to think that telecommunications started so very long ago and is still evolving today. Currently we have so many different forms of communication, but in the early 20^th century, telephones of any kind were still a novel notion.

Cars were also a relatively novel notion in the early 20^th century.Finally horse drawn carriages were not the only family vehicles available to the public.If you were lucky and were wealthy, you not only had a car, but someone to chauffer you around in it.

What do these two seemly different things have in common? The exciting advertisement for Western Electric’s Chau-Phone! Chau-Phone was a telephone purchased for limousines so that the rider could speak to their chauffeur without having to shout through a speaking tube. While researching this device, I came across a website dedicated to microphones used in broadcasting that had a link to an actual flyer which incorporated much of the advertisement. The flyer was more detailed than the ad in describing the phone in greater detail about its description, pricing and installation.

I wish I had been able to track down the sales numbers to this product. I wonder how long it was in production and if they were able to sell many of them. I was most struck by the fact that this ad is obviously aimed towards a wealthy clientele and in 1913, I can’t imagine that there was such a large call for personal limos, much less chauffeured vehicles with the need of a Chau-Phone.

Image of Western Electric "Chau-Phone", 1918 from
Spark Museum.

Additional information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Electric