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From Balustroid to Newcastle
Part 5. From Balustroid to Newcastle, 1720 - 1800.
Baluster and balustroid glasses compared:
Left. A baluster cordial glass the bell, or flared, bowl with solid base supported on a cushion knop, drop knop, a true baluster with tear, a base knop and a domed and folded foot. c. 1720, Ht. 14cm.
Right. A slimmed down balustroid glass of similar size, c.1730. The bowl without a solid base sits on an almost embarassingly large cushion knop dominating the swelling knop in the almost straight stem which has a long tear almost reaching the reduced base knop. But it does have a fine example of a conical folded foot.Baluster glasses, of massive construction, were expensive. At that time glass was sold by weight. At the same time, the plain stem glass was probably produced alongside the baluster as a way of utilising the lower grade metal from the bottom of the pot. Hence there was a commercial opening for a glass type of lighter weight, approaching baluster status, but suitable for wining and dining by the growing body of rich merchants and perhaps as a status symbol for the numerous clubs in London.
A slimmed down version of the baluster but initially keeping its characteristic bowl solid at the base, called by collectors a balustroid, or light baluster, was born. It was the sort of glass in which Pepys would have delighted had he lived a few decades later. However, they underwent a steady change until hardly distinguishable from the plain stem apart from the question of knopping. Even these became little more than simple swellings in the stem. Barrington Haynes Glass Through the Ages describes them thus:-
"At first doubtfully distinguishable from the latest balusters, they gradually deteriorated in style and somewhat in manufacture as their market widened to include more and more people of less and less wealth. Their knopping dwindled until there might be but a single small knop at the base of the stem; the metal worsened too, eventually acquiring a greyish unflattering look."
Another baluster (1720) - balustroid (1730) pair.:
The baluster has an elaborate (and rare) 6-ring annulated knop, The balustroid still has some thickening to the base of the bowl in balance with the triple annulated knop, slender inverted baluster and plain foot. These glasses fetched a good price at auction even 35 years ago.
(All photos courtesy of Sothebys)It is a reflection of how Ravenscroft's invention had changed expectations in two generations that this "greyish unflattering" metal was still considerably better than most of the greatly admired "facon de Venice" of his time. But if Darwinism is about the survival of the fittest, balustroid evolution spawned a new style, the Newcastle, that was to flourish until the end of the century.
However, the situation changed when the Newcastle became a favourite glass for engraving, particularly in Holland. As a result two qualities, one of best white glass and usually superior design, the other of a more inferior greyish glass, are clearly distinguishable.
Experts are divided on the significance of this. Newcastles are no longer thought to have been made in Newcastle, originally proposed because enameller, James Bielby used some of them for his work. 
Lead glass, Liege, c.1850. Some believe that all were made on the Continent because of the prevalence of Dutch engraving on them. Others believe that the best quality ones were made in England and the poorer ones on the Continent. I am divided between the second view and that they were all made in England, the quality, as suggested by Barrington Haynes, reflecting the standard of the glass used.
I have identified one possible Continental glasshouse that made lead glass in the mid 18th century and that is Liege. The thinly-blown goblet with wrythen bowl (right) is an example and it does have a Newcastle-like appearance. The colour is dark and the stem, in particular, of spindly construction; it could not be mistaken for an English glass. However, there are Newcastles with somewhat spindly stems, one of which is shown in the next part of this trail.
Kit-Kat glass: This popular English glass associated with the drinking habits of the Kit-Kat Club founded in 1720, has a drawn trumpet with teared stem above a swolen top knop and folded foot. c. 1740. Ht.16cm. 
A Newcastle light baluster c.1760, Ht. 18.8 cm.Nevertheless, the problem with the first theory remains that a genuine Newcastle of first quality has never been shown to have been made on the Continent and its stylistic characters are English, not Continental. Further, we know that one engraver, Jacob Sang, working in Holland imported his glasses from England. The probability is that they were all, or mostly, made in London, the centre of trade with Holland.
The Kit-Kat glass (right), undeniably English, is of the same basic construction as the Newcastle (left). The bowl and stem of the latter are more complex but they sit upon the same drawn out inverted baluster although it is now encloses a ring of air beads. Indeed, by comparison, the Kit-Kat can be seen as cheaper version of the Newcastle. It is only slightly better than a straight stem, a type of glass that might be expected to be used in a club environment. However, the Kit-Kat being early, has a folded foot; the Newcastle does not.
The question of where the Newcastles were actually made is a matter that may be solved in the future. Their high survival rate is thanks to the high quality engraving that has ensured their preservation.
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