This thing is right in the center of my bedroom’s floor, which is a converted dining room in a 1920s apartment. I can’t figure out what it is.
Answer: This is a servant floor call button.
My mother told me about seeing these at a relative’s house when she was very little. She said she found it entertaining, during a dinner party, to slip her foot under the table and press the button, and then see the hostess get furious at the servants for bringing in the next dish before the guests were even ready.
The first time I saw an old servant call system was during a tour of a restored Victorian mansion — it felt like stepping into “Downton Abbey.” In the kitchen, next to gleaming copper pots, was a quirky little board with room names and flags. The guide called it a “servant indicator board.” I thought of it as vintage texting.
Before phones, upper-class homes used bell pulls to call staff. Pulling a cord rang a bell or popped a flag in the servants’ quarters — no yelling required. And they weren’t just practical — the pulls were often braided silk or brass-trimmed, designed to blend in with the decor.
These systems also reflected the era’s class divide. Upstairs gave the orders; downstairs obeyed them. Though outdated, some old estates still use them for fun — like summoning someone to fetch the remote.
Today, they’re mostly museum pieces, but they offer a glimpse into how homes once ran and how status was silently enforced. I still geek out when I see one — they’re more than antiques; they’re stories in brass and wire.
Beta feature