National Glass Company No. 22 Diamond Spearhead

By Dan Whatley

Diamond Spearhead, a very sought after pattern today, first appeared in a 1901 National Glass Company Catalog under the designation Line 22.

The idea-of imitating the appearance of cut glass may have originated by copying earlier British opalescent patterns, with Harry Northwood designer of the pattern, or with the management of Bastow/Dugan. Regardless, Diamond Spearhead offers a spectacular example of pattern glass imitating cut glass. It is especially attractive in opalescent glass. The Dugan plant that once manufactured the Diamond Spearhead pattern was torn down long ago. Today, an Indiana University of Pennsylvania building sits on that site and shards of Diamond Spearhead have been found at this location.
Advanced collectors of opalescent glass eagerly seek the rare pieces in Diamond Spearhead. The pattern was made in opalescent white, vaseline, green, cobalt blue, sapphire blue, and crystal. This author very recently acquired a ruby flashed crystal tankard engraved with a name (Photo 1). Although vaseline is the most common (Photo 2), all the opalescent colors are rare; white and sapphire blue are the rarest of the opalescent colors. Two shades of cobalt blue can be seen in the master berry bowls, which also come in two sizes, 8 inches and 9 inches (Photo 3). The two sizes of master berry bowls have only been found in cobalt opalescent. Some of the master berry bowls and sauces have been found with more crimping treatment than others. Both the creamer and butter that goes with the table set (photo 4) also comes in two shades of cobalt opalescent. Of all of the diamond spearhead colors, crystal and ruby flashed are the most difficult to find. Water pitchers come in two forms, a tankard and a wide-mouth. The wide-mouth pitcher has, so far, only been found in vaseline opalescent. This author would be very interested to hear of wide-mouthed pitchers in other colors. There appears to be two variations of diamond spearhead tankards. This may be the result of the use of two different molds. Photos 1 and 5 illustrate the tankard pitchers.
Tumblers, so far found in only one size, generally have undergone repair of an inverted lip that easily chips. Berry bowls and mugs also have the inverted lips and are usually found in a repaired state. In some cases, the repair involves grinding the bottom lip off completely. So buyer beware! However, repaired pieces sometimes bring the same price that mint pieces command because of the pattern rarity.
A water carafe is known in vaseline opalescent and in crystal (photo 6). A collector is fortunate to find a water carafe with either wineglasses or goblets. Wineglasses are four inches high and the goblets are six inches high. A recent find in Diamond Spearhead, a crystal wine glass, goes perfectly with the crystal water carafe. A close look shows that both wineglasses are engraved with some sort of decoration. The vaseline opalescent water carafe with six goblets are all very rare finds. It has taken this author almost 20 years just to find all 6 vaseline opalescent goblets.
Other rarities in Diamond Spearhead include a lady's spittoon in vaseline opalescent, which a glassmaker may have fashioned from a berry dish (photo 7), and a salt and pepper shaker, which were unknown until 1991. Only a few sets have surfaced since, all in vaseline opalescent (photo 7).
Creamers in Diamond Spearhead appear in five sizes, starting with the miniature wide-mouth creamer(photo 8). Other creamers were made in both wide-mouth and tankard styles as seen in this photo. The miniature creamers and wide-mouth creamers are very difficult to find. Creamers that go with table sets have very fragile handles and are much more difficult to find intact than the other table set pieces.
A relish tray, one of the most unusual pieces in Diamond Spearhead, recently brought more than $350 on a popular Internet auction site. The relish (photo 7) measures 2 1/2 by 7 inches. The relish tray is considered to be very rare.
Perhaps the most elegant of all Diamond Spearhead pieces is the fruit stand (photo 9), a marriage of a large master berry bowl with a stand. The piece measures 8 inches tall and 9 inches across and goes well with the jelly dishes as pictured in photo 10. This item is also considered to be rare.
The rarest forms in Diamond Spearhead are the plate in vaseline opalescent (photo 11), and an olive bottle, pictured in Dugan/Diamond--The Story of Indiana Pennsylvania Glass (Heacock, Measell and Wiggens). This author has never personally seen an olive bottle and would be pleased to hear from a collector who has one. Photo 12 shows the toothpicks, and photo 13 shows the syrups and miniature wide-mouth creamers. Dugan/Diamond--The Story of Indiana Pennsylvania Glass (Heacock, Measell and Wiggens) shows two shapes of syrups. Note that there is some variation to the syrups tops shown in Photo 13(upper photo) The cup and saucer (photo 7) is another Diamond and Spearhead rarity; perhaps it is a reflection of the British glassmakers who brought their ideas and traditions to American glass making. The saucer is very fragile looking and very seldom does one find a saucer in this pattern.
Diamond Spearhead appears to come in a greater variety of forms than any other pattern manufactured by Dugan or Northwood. This author would be pleased to hear of forms and colors not mentioned in this article so that we can all add to our knowledge and enjoyment in collecting this elegant pattern.