# Can You Buy Edison Pushbutton Light Switches  Today?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-buy-edison-pushbutton-light-switches-today/675907>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 9, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-buy-edison-pushbutton-light-switches-today/675907 "2013-12-09T17:28:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-buy-edison-pushbutton-light-switches-today/675907/1 "2013-12-09T17:28:34Z")

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My Grandfather’s house (built 1906) had wall switches that were pushbuttons-you pushed to top button in to light the fixture-the bottom one to shut it off. These switches were used into the 1920’s-are they made today? Or do you have to buy them at a salvage shop?

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-buy-edison-pushbutton-light-switches-today/675907/2 "2013-12-09T17:30:01Z")

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[Gee, that was hard.](http://www.classicaccents.net/category/PBS.html)

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**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-buy-edison-pushbutton-light-switches-today/675907/3 "2013-12-09T18:15:48Z")

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Slow clap.

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**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-buy-edison-pushbutton-light-switches-today/675907/4 "2013-12-09T18:40:08Z")

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I know an abandoned building that has about a dozen of the old, brass-mechanism ones in perfect conditon. They still have smooth movement and snap over with a satisfying clack. Need to remember my screwdriver next visit. 🙂

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**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-buy-edison-pushbutton-light-switches-today/675907/5 "2013-12-11T00:37:42Z")

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The thoroughly modern building where I volunteer has plastic versions of these switches, so the style hasn’t gone out of style.

These ones, however, look more like a variation of those switch+motion sensor things you see in a lot of public restrooms than like anything you’d find in an edison-era building.