Telephones and other signaling setups existed back then, but only for
in-house communications. Mrs. Vanderbilt reportedly directed much of
the house's operation from a "nerve center" in her own bedroom. Note
the buttons dedicated to specific stations to call, as opposed to being
a general-purpose dial. Wall buttons would summon specific parts of
the staff; other bedrooms have fewer buttons but with similar purposes.
There is extensive technical information about this particular system in a
historical document
on servant life (about 80 Mb!) from the Preservation Society site.
Efforts to track down wiring and determine purpose are ongoing, not only
here at The Breakers but in the other Newport houses as well.
Communicating outside the house was never done electronically in well-bred
society, even if the capability existed. A message to someone at another
house would be handwritten on paper in beautiful copperplate, and formally
delivered to the other residence by an impeccably-dressed footman.
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