Mechanical Twist Doorbell

A visit to our upstairs neighbor's apartment last week revealed a great vintage doorbell she has installed on her door. It's completely non-electric and in keeping with the Victorian bones of our building...

The brass doorbell is simply a bell that's mounted inside of the door (think of where the peep-hole is located) and a little lever on the exterior of the door. Guests simply twist the lever and a pleasant brrring brrring sings out. Sure beats the crackling intercom system.

Here's a similar one at House of Antique Hardware.

Comments (9)

Great idea. Wonder if it would be too much to have that AND a peep hole?

posted by Artichokesoup on July 2nd 2008 at 10:25am
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When I was growing up a neighbor had one of these and we used to love to turn it. Definitely a wonderful sound. I'd like to see more of these in use.

posted by sciencegeek on July 2nd 2008 at 10:44am
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Oooh, that brings back memories. A family friend that was dear to us (who has since passed on) had one of these on his front door. We used to LOVE going to visit him, and we'd fight over who got to turn the "ringing key" every single time. I'd love to find one of these.

posted by Speakaboo on July 2nd 2008 at 10:58am
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I love this idea! It's so romantic and quaint!

posted by adorninc.wordpress.com on July 2nd 2008 at 11:10am
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A lot of people (myself included) have these in San Francisco. I love not ever having to worry about batteries, blackouts, etc. affecting my doorbell.

However, a lot of my friends still don't realize it's there (it's kind of mid-door) and end up banging on my door....

posted by Ironsides on July 2nd 2008 at 11:40am
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I have one of these bells on my house and it is LOUD...but I love it.

http://renovationtherapy.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/knock-knock-whos-there-the-headboard-bench/

Mine is an old brass one.

posted by I Love Upstate on July 2nd 2008 at 12:01pm
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My great-grandma had one of these on her door for ages. It was heavy and flower-shaped and had many many coats of paint caked on it. It held memories so dear that when Great-grandma Minnie passed away and her things were being sorted among the grandchildren, the one thing that my mother requested was that doorbell.

posted by Aimi on July 3rd 2008 at 5:15am
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I sell antique and vintage hardware on my web site http://www.historichomehardware.com/store/ and the mechanical doorbells are definitely a favorite! When installed through a door they are much more frequently at mid height where the door stiles meet. In addition to the "twist" style there are also many lever and pull options as well. In my listings you can also find pages from antique hardware catalogs that show the many ways doorbells can be installed. Some hardware even tells your guests what to do - Turn or Push! Fun to look at and if you have any questions, by all means ask!

posted by HHH on August 7th 2008 at 5:05pm
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I also bought a great mechanical doorbell at Look In The Attic - they are online at www.LookInTheAttic.com - they have a great highly detailed mechanical doorbell - very cool and it comes in polished brass, antique brass and also a bronze. I ordered the antique color. It is fantastic!

posted by Johnny Ray on January 10th 2009 at 7:10pm
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