Teleseme

A teleseme from Electric Telegraphy (1896)
The instructions read:
GRASP the crank PIN, and move it IN or OUT, from centre, and RIGHT or LEFT, until it REMAINS AT REST on what you want AFTER you remove your hand then PRESS the red "push" button once firmly, and don't touch the pointer after that. OBSERVE: The pin remains where you set it, until your want is known. Then it moves back to the "rib."

The teleseme,[a] also known as the Herzog Teleseme, was an electric signaling device used in luxury hotels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Guests desiring room service could use the dial mechanism of their room's teleseme to indicate a good or service from over 100 options. An attendant in a hotel office would then receive the request at a corresponding teleseme and have the order filled.

Telesemes were invented by F. Benedict Herzog in the 1880s, alongside Schuyler Wheeler. They were an "emblem of luxury" in hotels from the 1890s through to the 1910s but were eventually replaced with private branch exchange (PBX) telephone systems.

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