# Question about candlestick telephones **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2018, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216 "2018-01-09T07:35:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/1 "2018-01-09T07:35:27Z")
I’m familiar with them from film only, starting with silent films in the 20’s up to the Mayberry Police station n the '60’s. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in real life. I wondered a bit about it in years gone by, but lately I’ve been binge watching “Boardwalk Empire” and now I simply must know. These devices are rather simple. They have a mouth piece mounted atop the ‘candlestick’ to speak into and a cone-shaped receiver held up to the ear to hear the call with. My question: The cradle which holds the receiver has two hoops on it. This is invariable and occurs in every model I have ever seen in film. There must be some practical purpose for these but I am at odds to figure out what it could be. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/2 "2018-01-09T07:48:24Z")
Interesting - a google image search of antique candlestick phones confirms what you’re describing. I expected that another search including the term ‘lock’ would have revealed the purpose, but I can find nothing. It looks as though the loops are there so that a rod can be passed through them, locking the earpiece in place - maybe for transit, or maybe to prevent unauthorised use, but as I say, I can find nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/3 "2018-01-09T08:02:39Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Interesting - a google image search of antique candlestick phones confirms what you’re describing. I expected that another search including the term ‘lock’ would have revealed the purpose, but I can find nothing. It looks as though the loops are there so that a rod can be passed through them, locking the earpiece in place - maybe for transit, or maybe to prevent unauthorised use, but as I say, I can find nothing. –I had the same thought myself, although I quickly realized that the shape of the receiver would prevent it from being constrained by a rod, strap, or anything else passed through the hoops. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/4 "2018-01-09T08:08:13Z")
Are you talking about the same part that you see frantically jiggled by characters in old movies shouting “Operator! Operator!”? If so, that was the hook, just like modern land line phones (if that isn’t an oxymoron). Besides providing a place to put the earpiece when not in use, it was also the switch that opened the circuit for use. ---
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/5 "2018-01-09T08:15:20Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Are you talking about the same part that you see frantically jiggled by characters in old movies shouting “Operator! Operator!”? > > If so, that was the hook, just like modern land line phones (if that isn’t an oxymoron). Besides providing a place to put the earpiece when not in use, it was also the switch that opened the circuit for use. –Yes, that’s the part. But I’m talking specifically about the hoops at either end of the horseshoe-shaped feature. Take a look at some photos and you’ll see what we’re discussing here. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/6 "2018-01-09T08:41:39Z")
It’s common, but not universal. [Here’s one with filled circles](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/95/c1/95/95c19546e86872f7e9c3eafcc63d93bd.jpg). [And one with upturned prongs](https://ii.designtoscano.com/fcgi-bin/iipsrv.fcgi?FIF=/images/toscano/source/PM1897_1.tif&wid=450&cvt=jpeg). Pretty sure it’s just there to catch the lip of the earpiece so it doesn’t slide out of place. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/7 "2018-01-09T10:05:12Z")
It is called a ‘switch hook’ and seems to be the common way of terminating the part where the earpiece sits. My guess is that it was purely decorative. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/8 "2018-01-09T10:12:13Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Are you talking about the same part that you see frantically jiggled by characters in old movies shouting “Operator! Operator!”? > > If so, that was the hook, just like modern land line phones (if that isn’t an oxymoron). Besides providing a place to put the earpiece when not in use, it was also the switch that opened the circuit for use. That is correct. I have a non-functioning one. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/9 "2018-01-09T10:34:10Z")
I have seen hooks on old phones where the “hoop” part is solid. This isn’t a candlestick phone but the hook is essentially the same: [https://auctionimages.s3.amazonaws.com/10355/44470/38147891.jpg](https://auctionimages.s3.amazonaws.com/10355/44470/38147891.jpg) I can’t find a picture now, but I’ve also seen a metal bar that went through the hoops and had hooks on either end to make a cradle for a different style earpiece. I don’t know how common this was, but I’m guessing it wasn’t common at all since I can’t find any pictures of one now. ETA: Here, found a candlestick style with solid parts instead of hoops: [http://thumbs1.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mall5AkMNQKU\_-tyDqiQ\_3w.jpg](http://thumbs1.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mall5AkMNQKU_-tyDqiQ_3w.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/10 "2018-01-09T10:36:22Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > It’s common, but not universal. > > [Here’s one with filled circles](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/95/c1/95/95c19546e86872f7e9c3eafcc63d93bd.jpg). > > [And one with upturned prongs](https://ii.designtoscano.com/fcgi-bin/iipsrv.fcgi?FIF=/images/toscano/source/PM1897_1.tif&wid=450&cvt=jpeg). > > Pretty sure it’s just there to catch the lip of the earpiece so it doesn’t slide out of place. Both of those are modern phones which call upon some of the style elements of the original candlestick design - if you look at true antique phones (i.e. old bakelite things with no dial), they nearly all have loop ends… However, a few don’t - so I think it’s probaby reasonable to assume that the rounded ends (loops or discs) are just there to prevent the earpiece from slipping off the hook. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/11 "2018-01-09T10:39:25Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > It is called a ‘switch hook’ and seems to be the common way of terminating the part where the earpiece sits. My guess is that it was purely decorative. I’m wondering if early versions were made from a continuous length of wire - and the loop was a way of providing a retaining function at the end without breaking the wire - and maybe this held over into the models where the hook was made from a punched piece of flat metal ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/12 "2018-01-09T11:06:39Z")
It’s interesting that this feature was also common in competing styles of telephones that used a modern handset - e.g. with ear and mouth pieces on the same piece. It hung on the hookswitch in such a way that the loops provided no obvious benefit even in terms of keeping the receiver on the hook. This [Western Electric wall phone](http://www.jitterbuzz.com/furn/WE201_03.jpg) from the 1920s is a good example. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/13 "2018-01-09T11:32:33Z")
Could it be that the loops have some function not for the end-user but rather during the production process? Perhaps at the factory the cradles are stored on poles that pass through the loops, or maybe they’re transported that way from where they’re produced to where they are assembled to the rest of the unit. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/14 "2018-01-09T11:36:38Z")
Another guess is that initially it may have just been a user interface design decision. The loop was a simple way to tell users that the part could be operated manually by putting a finger in it, much like the rotary dials that evolved soon after. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/15 "2018-01-09T14:30:16Z")
My theory, being involved in supply chain and parts sourcing: It’s mostly about using commonly produced parts and manufacturing techniques. The end loops that ultimately hold the ear piece are simple, large washers of ordinary stock that are simply welded to some other ordinary and easy to manufacture/source parts. Parts? Check. Technique? Check. Efficient? Check. Effective? Check. Creating a more custom cradle from non-standard parts would be more time consuming and less cost effective. Given logistics and shipping in days gone by, you used what you had or could get most efficiently (as is the case today), but back then it was exponentially more important. Lines of manufacture were simpler and more straightforward. If you look at fancier and rarer models, including ones with gilding, that ‘hook’ is more of a custom piece. Looking at the parts used… they are pretty standard. [![](https://sep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-24936182256914_2272_39843578) ](https://sep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-24936182256914_2272_39843578) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/16 "2018-01-09T16:25:54Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > My theory, being involved in supply chain and parts sourcing: It’s mostly about using commonly produced parts and manufacturing techniques. The end loops that ultimately hold the ear piece are simple, large washers of ordinary stock that are simply welded to some other ordinary and easy to manufacture/source parts. Parts? Check. Technique? Check. Efficient? Check. Effective? Check. > > Creating a more custom cradle from non-standard parts would be more time consuming and less cost effective. Given logistics and shipping in days gone by, you used what you had or could get most efficiently (as is the case today), but back then it was exponentially more important. Lines of manufacture were simpler and more straightforward. > > If you look at fancier and rarer models, including ones with gilding, that ‘hook’ is more of a custom piece. > Looking at the parts used… they are pretty standard. > > [https://sep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-24936182256914\_2272\_39843578](https://sep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-24936182256914_2272_39843578) But look at the earpiece hook for the assembled unit in that image - it certainly isn’t made from washers welded onto anything - it’s either cast in one piece, or forged. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/17 "2018-01-09T16:41:53Z")
I saw a “licorice stick” phone in an antique store once - the hook was clearly a casting. Nothing but guesses about why it had holes in it, though, sorry. The earpiece looks small but it’s _heavy_. Phone conversations couldn’t have lasted long. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/18 "2018-01-09T17:02:09Z")
Definitely a cast piece. [This web site](https://www.collectorsweekly.com/telephones/candlestick)offers little explanation but points out the following: > [@](#): > > The phone’s heavy receiver, or speaker end, rested on a hooked perch when not in use. Attached to the phone’s main vertical shaft, these switchhooks evolved from a pointy U-shape finger to a thicker arm that split into two smaller ones, each ending in an open circle. It may be nothing but a decorative style that caught on. It might also be part of a design patent. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/19 "2018-01-09T17:07:13Z")
I wonder if the holes could have been used to lock the earpiece to prevent teenagers from running up the phone bill. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216/20 "2018-01-09T17:09:46Z")
So did the first person who responded to this thread. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-candlestick-telephones/806216.md?page=2)