4. THE AIR-SPIRAL STEM
At any rate, out of the “tears” in the baluster and plain round stems was developed the idea of ornamenting stems by internal spirals or twists, and whether these should be number four or number three in the chronological order is not very important. By twisting while drawing out the stem from the surplus metal of the bowl (which contained several small “tears”) the graceful and beautiful effect of the air spiral inside the stem was produced. Sometimes the spiral starts within the bowl; sometimes it winds round the base of the bowl; but always the ornamentation becomes a trellis-work or network when it fills up the whole stem; when it does not fill up the whole stem, it meanders down it medially, in one substantial spiral, like a corkscrew or a rope, or in two that interlace: and in the finest examples the finger can feel no ridging of the surface at all, though a slight ridging is palpable in many glasses. Now all this meant splendid workmanship—English aptitude at handicraft, the best of its kind in the world.
DRAWN BOWL AND AIR-SPIRAL STEM, BEGINNING BELOW THE BOWL
Sometimes the spiral is so very brilliant that it seems as if it were made of quicksilver, and collectors call it “silver spiral” or “brilliant air-twist”; but this is probably an effect of light. In all cases the air spiral is glass colour, the tint of the rest of the glass; red, cotton-white, and blue spirals belong to the type of stem to be mentioned next. Sometimes, it is true, a white thread is seen running down the centre of the stem, within the network of air spirals; but oftener when this central thread occurs, it is “air-colour” itself.
Air spirals are often seen in stems of knobby or baluster form; sometimes air-spiral stems have “necks.” This probably means that long rods of glass containing air spirals were made, with the baluster shape recurring at regular intervals of suitable length, so that the rod could be cut up into lengths and each length welded on to the bowl and the foot of a glass. These are the air-spiral glasses most sought after. Sometimes the stem of a drawn glass was welded to a foot of which a bulb was the upper part, this bulb sometimes containing beadlike “tears,” but these are very rare: sometimes the upper part of the stem is plain, and the lower part, beginning with a knob, is air spiral, or vice versa. Sometimes old air-spiral glasses with small feet are found; this was due to a practice of grinding away the edge, when the feet had become chipped by much use, and re-polishing the feet of these much-valued glasses; the folded foot for these glasses was not the rule.
Tall, slender-bowled air-spiral glasses for champagne are sometimes found, in shape resembling the glasses called flûtes; I own one of this sort not less than 9½ inches high. Rarer still are spiral-stemmed glasses for ale; I own one 11 inches high (see [illustration], page 60). The former I gave 7s. 6d. for, the latter 10s., a tithe of their West-End prices. But these are very exceptional glasses.
Air-spiral stems are found in cordial and spirit glasses, firing glasses, and goblets with short stems.