Hush-A-Phone

Sold by the Hush-A-Phone company, the device was frequently described in its commercial advertisements as "a voice silencer designed for confidential conversation, clear transmission and office quiet.

The Hush-A-Phone was regularly referred to in telecommunications policy analysis in the 1980s,[2][3][4][5] attracting renewed interest in the 2000s as a symbol of a small company fighting against a monopoly, especially in the context of net neutrality.

[13] The company was still seeking a salesman in April 1922, but stopped posting dedicated sales openings until January 1923, this time noting several thousand Hush-A-Phones had already sold in New York.

The ad noted that Mr. H. C. Tuttle, President of the Hush-A-Phone Corporation, had just returned from a European tour of ten countries where the product would be distributed.

[35][11] On December 22, 1948, Hush-A-Phone and Harry C. Tuttle, its president, protested to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking them to order the phone company to authorize use of the device.

[37] Some time between May 3 and 12, 1949, the company moved a few doors down, to 65 Madison Ave.,[38][39] and occasionally advertisements exceeded the four-line standard, in Oct 1949 offering free tickets to the "Business Show".

[40] In February 1951, the FCC decided Hush-A-Phone's complaint should be dismissed, but held the case open for the next seven years, permitting further pleadings and reconsideration.

FCC official Jack Werner's suggestion was that the telephone company should suspend service to any consumer failing to comply with the regulation prohibiting foreign attachments.

[33] The FCC's final decision was issued on December 23, 1955, and stated "The unrestricted use of the 'Hush-A-Phone' could result in a general deterioration of the quality of interstate and foreign telephone service.