Back in the 50's Viking introduced the "Yesteryear" pattern and for over 10 years it remained in the Viking Catalogs. In 1969 a Catalog Supplement showed that they changed the look of the "Yesteryear" design and the oval with the circle in it called "Bull's Eye" was added to the line. It was a totally different look from the old "Yesteryear". This pattern was in the Viking Catalogs for 1970 and 1971 and then disappeared. This new look was only shown in the Viking Catalogs for 2 years.

The first photo shows the side by side differences.
It amazes me how they totally eliminate the yesteryear "Bull's Eye" design from the Catalogs. But, they came out strong with the new "Diamond Thumb Print" in a number of different designs in 1972.

Viking Reproduced the Old Sandwich Glass Pattern - Diamond Thumb Print

A small green 4 page folder was included with each piece of New Diamond Thumb Print as it left the Viking Factory in 1972.

The Cover of the Folder read:
"Creations Patterned After Early American Pattern Glass hand made by Viking Glass Company."

Inside 2 page fold read:
Sandwich Glass, Diamond Thumb Print Pattern, Early American Pattern Glass - 1850's
"Originally produced by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company on Cape Cod, this pressed glass pattern was one of the most popular in its time. It consists simply of large diamond blocks with a size able thumbprint in the center of each. This is a product of hand craftsmanship that closely resembles the original Diamond Thumb Print pieces, created by Viking artisans to provide a wider selection of practical glassware for your Early American pattern Glass collection."

The back read:
"Viking has reproduced a fine collection of authentic replicas of Sandwich Glass,

authorized by the Sandwich Historical Society, which have become so popular that a demand has grown for additional pieces.
For those who wish to enhance their collection of authentic Sandwich Glass replicas, we have added certain pieces patterned after the original Diamond Thumb Print design. These pieces beautifully complement the original Sandwich Glass, and were created by Viking Glass craftsmen in Amethyst (listed as Plum) Colonial Blue, Crystal and Ruby to help you fulfill your growing desire for this unique and gracious pattern."
The 1972 Viking Catalog Cover made no reference to the new addition. Opening the Catalog to the first page and the new Thumb Print design is shown with a pair of "Candle Glimmers", in the new Plum color and ruby, standing out on the upper right side of the page. In the printing industry this is the perfect spot for a new idea to be noticed.

Page 2 and 3 of the 1972 Catalog really shows a dynamic spread of the new pattern in 17 differently designed pieces. All pieces were shown in Crystal but the 1973 price list shows colors made in Amber, Crystal, Ruby and Plum.
The Gallery only has a few pieces of "Diamond Thumb Print" pictured for now but I will continue to add. I am listing all the numbers here and photos of what are in the Gallery.

#7201 - 10" Stemmed Bowl
#7202 - 6" Round Base Stemmed - 1 Lite Candleholder
#7203 - 12" Stemmed Cake Salver
#7204 - 12" Apothecary Jar & Cover-SM on Lid
#7205 - 10" Celery Vase
#7206 - 8" Covered Candy Jar or Covered Sugar

#7207 - 12 Ounce Creamer
#7208 - 7" Stemmed Compote
#7209 - 5" to 6" Candle Glimmer
#7210 - 11" Vase
#7211 - 7.25" Relish Tray
#7212 - 7 Ounce Bitter Bottle with Silver Stopper
#7213 - No Listing
#7214 - 6" Stemmed Crimped Compote
#7215 - Salt & Pepper Shakers
#7216 - 10 Ounce Stemmed Goblet
#7217 - 6 Ounce Sherbet
#7218 - 6 Ounce Stemmed Wine
#7219 - 1.5 Ounce Wine
#7220 - 9 Ounce Tumbler

#7221 - 5 Ounce Juice
#7222 - Small Sauce Dish (No measurements given)
#7223 - Smaller Honey Dish (No measurements given)
#7224 - 10" Stemmed Bowl
#7225 - 12" Handled Basket

Page 4 of the 1972 Viking Catalog shows 17 Pieces of the pattern made in the Colonial Blue or Ice Blue Color. Pictured, some of these Blue pieces, all, have the capital letters SM underlined and embossed on the bottom, not all pieces have this mark. A paragraph at the bottom of the page says this is the symbol that identifies the authentic Sandwich Glass replica, made only by Viking Glass.

Page 5 of the 1972 Catalog shows 20 pieces of the pattern in the new Plum color. Plum is a very dark Amethyst. I have only seen reference to this color it in this Catalog.

Page 7 of the 1973 Viking Catalog showed the items from the Diamond Thumb Print pattern made in Ruby.
#7204 - 12" Apothecary Jar & Cover
#7205 - 10" Celery Vase
#7206 - 8" Covered Candy Jar or Covered Sugar
#7209 - 5" to 6" Candle Glimmer
These were the only items shown in Ruby and the 1973 Viking Price list only list these items in Ruby. We must assume these were the only Ruby items made at this time, we will see if more show up. The 1973 Price list shows all items sold in Amber and Plum. None of the Colonial Blue items were shown in the 1973 Catalog. Again we must assume Colonial Blue was a very limited production.

The 1974 Viking Catalog only pictured the #7206 - 8" Covered Candy and #7204 12" Apothecary Jar in Ruby. It seemed like "Diamond Thumb Print" met the same fate, as "Yesteryear Bull’s Eye", a very short production. There were no traces of the pattern for the next 3 years.


The 1977 Viking Catalog showed the #7715 - 5.5" Thumb Print Bell. I have this Bell in the Gallery in 7 different colors and there may be more. The one pictured looks Lite Blue but the color is Ginger.


There was no other reference to Diamond Thumb Print until the 1984 - 1985 Viking Catalog. Page 2 of the 1984 - 1985 showed 7 different Thumbprint items.
#7201 - 10" Stemmed Bowl
#7202 - 6" Round Base Stemmed 1 Lite Candleholder
#7206 - 8" Covered Candy Jar or Covered Sugar

#7217 6 ounce sherbet
was shown in colonial blue, crystal and plum in the 1972 Viking catalog. This little guy is 4 inches tall and 4 inches wide. It has the SM embossed on the bottom of the base.

#7214 - 6" Stemmed Crimped Compote
#7215 - Salt & Pepper Shakers
#7715 - 5.5" Bell
#7227 - 6" Spoon holder Vase (shaped like the old Celery Vase but shorter)

The Catalog said "all items available in Crystal, Sterling Grey, Peach and Ruby".

These 7 items were shown again in Ruby on page 12 of the 1984 Catalog.

Doing this article, and looking at these beautiful pieces of art glass, makes me realize how small my large collection of Viking Art Glass is. I see no trace of the pattern in Dalzell's era so I believe this was the extent of the production. A complete collection of this pattern would be very impressive!


11/1/2006 - updated 4/20/2007, 8/15/2018