Curtis Elevator Car Call Button, Antique Bronze Building Hardware Panel, Weight is close to 1 1/2 pounds. Cool car call button that looks great held up to a light. Has the call button and switch in back attached and the floor numbers panel, but missing rest.
This looks and feels bronze but could be brass and nonmagnetic. Found some fun info on elevators from the great Wikipedia at bottom of page.
Button measures 8″ tall, 3 3/8″ wide. Two mounting holes no screws included. Has scratches, scuffs, tarnishing verdigris nicks dings and still looks great! Cool find! Online search has few Curtis company’s but going with Curtis Elevator Co. Inc. was an elevator company in Queens, New York, U.S.A. They installed elevators in New York, and New Jersey. They manufactured their own parts. No earlier than 1990, they were defunct. It is unknown if they went out of business or were bought out by a larger company.
Guessing made 1930’s. Cool Old Curtis Elevator Company Call Button!! Shipping for lower 48 states. Online at the Long Island City Elevator Historical Society/ The Museum have similar call buttons and a whole lot more! Please check pictures for description and condition.
The booming elevator market
In 1852 Elisha Otis invented the safety elevator, which automatically comes to a halt if the hoisting rope breaks. After a demonstration at the 1853 New York World’s Fair, the elevator industry established credibility.
Otis elevator in Glasgow, Scotland, imported from the U.S. in 1856 for Gardner’s Warehouse, the oldest cast-iron fronted building in the British Isles.
The Otis Elevator Company was founded in Yonkers, New York, in 1853 by Elisha Otis. When Elisha died in 1861, his sons Charles and Norton formed a partnership and continued the business. During the American Civil War, their elevators were in high demand due to the shipment of war materials. Businesses throughout the United States purchased them. In 1864, with the partnership of J.M. Alvord, the company became known as Otis Brothers & Co. In 1867, Otis opened a factory in Yonkers, New York, the city where the company was founded.
In 1925, the world’s first fully automatic elevator, Collective Control, was introduced. In 1931, the company installed the world’s first double-deck elevator in New York City.
Otis opened a factory in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1965.
Fayette S. Dunn became president of the company in 1964, succeeding the late Percy Douglas.
