Lord Montagu had, with a certain
amount of flair, taken up an idea of his time, to put a mascot on top of
the radiator,
and it had become a fashion. Rolls-Royce
had noted other owners of their cars following the new vogue, but doing
so
with less style by choosing mundane
or even risque and vulgar subjects.
Following th Lord Montagu commission,
Charles Sykes was asked to create a mascot which in future would adorn
every Rolls-Royce. In February 1911 he
presented to Rolls-Royce the "Spirit of Ecstasy", which was easily recognisable
as being a variation on the theme of "The
Whisper". The similarity was hardly coincidental
because the model for both had been the
lovely Miss Thornton.
The Spirit of Ecstasy was now delivered
by the Company with every Rolls-Royce. Each was done using the technique
which
was thousands of years old and
known as the lost-wax method.This
practice results in the mould's being destroyed to reveal
the casting, which explains why
no two figures are exactly alike. Sykes, assisted by his daughter Jo, remained
responsible for manufacturing the Spirit of Ecstasy for many years. Likewise,
each of the unique creations bore his signature on the plinth.
The sculptures are eithersigned
"Charles Sykes, February 1911" or sometimes "Feb 6, 1911" or "6.2.11".
Even after Rolls-Royce took over
the casting of the figures in 1948 each Spirit of Ectasy continued to receive
this
inscription until 1951.
From 1911
to 1914 the Spirit of Ectasy was silver-plated
and
thus many thought it a massive piece of precious metal -
one reason for the frequent thefts.
In smaller versions, and now made from highly polished nickel alloy, the
radiator
decoration has stood its ground
on every Rolls-Royce, including those in the present range.
Over the years various alterations
have been made. Those mascots for Rolls-Royce motor cars at the Springfield
plant in
the USA were modified. Bowing a
little more forward no longer were they a danger to the bonnet. The original
version
had touched the bonnet sides when
these were opened without the precaution having been taken of turning the
figure
sideways.
No enthusiasm for the Spririt of
Ecstasy was shown by Royce, who
judged her to be but a fashionable
bauble and carped
that shespoiled
the clear line of the car's bow.The order
to create the sculpture was given during the chief engineer's
illness and had been absent. Thus
it became a habit that Rolls-Royce cars used by Royce were rarely driven
with a mascot
in place.
When, towards the end of the twenties
and the new body line of Sports Saloons had reduced the height of the coachwork,
Royce was prompted to think about
a lower variationof
the Spirit of Ecstasy, by which alteration a driver might benefit
from clear vision even with the
windscren lower and his seating position reduced in turn.Sykes
created a kneeling version
of the mascot, whih fulfiled this
demand. Signed
"C. Sykes, 26.1.34" the inscription on the
plinth revealed the day when the
first piece had been finished.
The kneeling version remained after
the Second World War for the new Silver
Wraith and Silver Dawn. All following
models, however, sported a standing
mascot, although this has now been reduced in size considerably compared
to the
old one.
Rarely, however, is the correct
term"Spirit of Ecstasy"used
- detractors remark this was only done at the factory in Crewe.
The nickname
"Emily"
is
widespread and Americans speak of the "Silver
Lady" or the
"Flying Lady".
In 1920 Rolls-Royce had taken part
in a competition in Paris for
the most apposite mascot in the world. This they did with a
gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy, which secured
Rolls-Royce first place. From
then on gold-plated versions of the Spirit of
Ecstasy were available from the
company - at an extra charge.
Safety regulations in some countries
turned out to be a stumbling block to the fitting of the Spirit of Ecstasy.
She qualified
as a sharp-edged piece of metal
jutting from the coachwork, which might injure
a victim in an accident.
because of this,
in Switzerland during the second half of the seventies, the installation
of mascots on Rolls-Royces was forbidden and purchasers
of a new Rolls-Royce delivered
to that country found their mascot in the glove compartment. The problem
was solved with
the Silver Spirit and Silver Spur;
at the merest knock the Spirit of Ecstasy
sank
into the radiator surround and vanished out of harms way. Thus
were the safety regulations satisfied.