Twitch

By Barb Chamberlain

Twitch—I do that when something itches, bothers me, or frightens me. No, this Twitch was a product of the Bartlett-Collins Glass Company.

The Bartlett-Collins Glass Company began when Mr. Bartlett, an oil or coal man (I’ve found both reported), teamed up with Mr. Collins, a glass man, to produce glass in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, “the only glass company west of the Mississippi River.” The company was in existence from 1914 – 1941 doing hand pressed and blown glass work. After that, machines took over production.

Their early lines consisted mostly of utilitarian ware, tableware, lamps, and shades. The glass was made in crystal and opal, but by 1927 they were producing rose lustre, amber lustre, and crystal iridescent glass. They also had Depression glass in pink and green (Nu-green and Nu-rose), some with enameling or silkscreened designs.

In a catalog photo, shown in Hazel Marie Weatherman’s Colored Glassware of the Depression Era 2, the Twitch pattern was shown made, in lime green, in three sizes of tumblers (five, nine, and twelve ounce size), a twenty-five-ounce jug (pitcher), cream and sugar, sherbet, a cup and saucer, and an eight and one-half inch plate. Mrs. Weatherman didn’t have any catalog pages notating the items that were made with iridescence.

We have had the Twitch cup for quite some time, but just recently purchased the tumbler. When I filled our tumbler with nine ounces of water, it filled it entirely to the top edge. This is a rather plain tumbler with twelve convex ellipse shaped figures on the exterior. The cup has thirteen ellipses on the exterior and a raised star on the base. The tumbler has a plain base. You will notice that the ellipses on the cup are much more distinct than those on the tumbler.

Although the Twitch tumbler isn’t as showy as many other tumblers, it is an interesting and unusual tumbler. The distinctive markings of the cup don’t show as much on the tumbler due to being more elongated, I would think. The pattern is exterior.

As you see above, there is a more definitive pattern on the cup than on the tumbler making it easier to identify the cup.

These are the only two pieces that I have seen in carnival glass. Perhaps you have one of these, or maybe you have another shape that is iridized. If you do, please send a photo and description, and I will include it in a future issue of The Carnival Pump. Email your photos and description to me at dbcham@iowatelecom.net or snail mail it to 124 E. Honey Creek Dr., Manchester, IA 52057.

This article first appeared in the ICGA Pump in the June 2018 issue and is reprinted with permission.