Mutual Telephone Company

01/10/2026

Hello,

For anyone interested in the history of the telephone business in the USA: Here is an illustration of Mutual Telephone Company in Erie, Pennsylvania. Mutual Telephone was the predecessor to Pennsylvania Telephone Corporation. Mutual Telephone also owned Petroleum Telephone Company in Oil City, Pennsylvania.

Long since removed, over the door was a bas relief panel of Vox Volat or "Flight of Speech." I am not absolutely sure when this building was completed. I believe the late 1930's or the early 1940's? The artist, Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, was commissioned to create a bas relief panel for over the front entryway. She used her sculpture from 1921 called, "Speed," for the inspiration. Once the panel was mounted, and the building was christened, Mutual Telephone referred to the art panel as "Vox Volat," in Latin for, "Speech Flies." Around this time, the flying figure started to be known as, "The Flight of Speech." The symbol was used from the early 1940's through as late as 1958, when completely replaced by the generic General Telephone.
Pictured L to R: Mutual Telephone building circa 1945. Mutual, now Verizon, circa 2025, and "Speed" by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth 1921, 20 Years Mutual Telephone Company.
01/14/2026 - Mutual Telephone Company pin added. Extremely scarce! I have ony seen one in slightly over 18 years since collecting. Thank you for stopping by!