Telephone
Category
Historic Services / Communications
Date
Unknown
Materials
Metal, Plastic
Measurements
315 x 150 x 140 mm
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Lamb House, Rye, East Sussex
NT 204148
Caption
Henry James is thought to have had one of the first ever telephones installed in Rye in 1912. In a letter to a Mrs Ford he writes excitedly “I am on the telephone now – 51, Rye, if you please – and am quite proud and heartened up at being able to be conversed with”. Having the “superior power of sound” seemed to bring him great comfort as he was recovering from a bout of shingles. The room where it was kept then became known as the telephone room, and James made it available to his many guests as a writing space.
Summary
Plastic telephone, Rye 271.