Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston

Here we see a small, wall-mounted wooden telephone from the French company THOMSON-HOUSTON (Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston), dating from 1909 and bearing serial number 10190. It is crafted from walnut wood. The handset is of the “cornet” type—a design that provided natural sound amplification; furthermore, from a hygienic perspective, it posed a lower risk of germ transmission, as it did not need to be held close to the speaker’s face. Made of brass, it features a “push-to-talk” mechanism: a button on the handle that must be pressed to enable speech. The handset cord is made of fabric in a brown shade.  Engraved on the handle is the company name, along with the designation “B.S.G.D.G.”—an abbreviation for ‘’Breveté Sans Garantie du Gouvernement’’ (“Patented without Government Guarantee”). Established under the French Patent Law of 1844, this provision required companies to state that the government bore no responsibility for the item in question. Also engraved is the serial number “No 723”; given this very low number, it can be concluded that the handle was manufactured prior to 1900.