Wall telephones were among the first phones that were made available to the public by the early telephone companies of the late 1900s.

Most of these phones had self-contained batteries to provide transmission power, and a magneto (a small electric generator) to generate the electricity required to ring the pair of bells of the party being called, which were mounted above the mouthpiece. An added benefit was derived from the fact that the local batteries provided a stronger more consistent power source compared to common battery power that suffered from loss of clarity in the extended lines common in rural settings. This strategy enabled telephone users to communicate with each other without the requirement for a centralized power supply. However, the manufacture of local battery phones with magneto ringing was essentially discontinued in the US during the 1940s.

In order to use the telephone, the user would need to speak into the mouthpiece while listening to the other party with the receiver, which was hung on the side of the phone when not in use.

It was common for wall telephones to have a small slanted desk built in at the bottom of the phone, with a traditional role of providing a working surface that was large enough to write notes while speaking on the telephone, and in some cases to support the telephone or hold telephone books. It was common for the slanted desk surface to be fitted with two ridges to keep papers and pencils from falling to the floor.