Mono Monday: "Invention (18th century)"

Through much of history, servants in grand houses were kept close at hand - even occupying their own end of the same Great Hall where the owners spent most of their time - and so were easily summoned with a loud "Oy, you!" or whatever. 

By the 18th century, though, grand houses had grown grander and bigger, and servants were typically being moved further away and generally kept out of sight, for example in dedicated wings. This posed a challenge for the aristocratic house owners: how to summon these now-distant servants. 

There's some interesting information on remote bell systems here. I haven't found a specific named inventor. One site dated the invention to 1744, but gave no further information. It seems they were around a little earlier, though; a 1727 inventory listing of pulley-operated house bells in Kiveton House in Yorkshire may well be the earliest recorded usage of mounted house bells.

This bell lever is one of a pair, mounted on either side of a fireplace. I find it quite amazing they would have been placed there to save the effort of getting up and walking to the other side!