Moondrops Ruby Sugar Elegant Depression Glass New Martinsville
Today I went to the Kalamazoo Art Institute garage sale, a wonderful sale with lots of goodies. Last year I got this Moondrops ruby mini sugar bowl there, along with several other pieces of ruby glass. Red is my favorite color and it’s always good to see ruby glass in pretty patterns like Moondrops. Today I bought some books but passed on the glass we saw.
My friend found an interesting vase with a clear glass spiral up the side and a red interior. The vase was heavy and marked Italy. I left it there. The vase looked like cased glass at a quick glance but looking closer we could see it had a red coating on the interior. I saw an online tutorial to make a “depression glass” look-alike candle holder by using a type of glass paint that is readily available and I think that is what this vase was.
The ruby red on this Moondrops sugar is the glass color, not flashed or cased nor painted, but a true rich ruby colorant in the glass.
New Martinsville made Moondrops in several bold colors including cobalt blue, deep green and this gorgeous ruby red. It dates to the depression era, 1932 to 1940, and from what I can tell, Moondrops ceased before New Martinsville reorganized into Viking Glass.
The creamers and sugars are the easiest pieces of Moondrops to find. Although New Martinsville made a full dinnerware set you will find more stemware and accessory pieces than the usual plates or cups and saucers. That makes it a fun pattern to use along with other dishes, especially if you like the rich colors.
If you are looking for a small piece of ruby glass to go in a window or as contrast to your lighter colored pieces, then consider Moondrops. It’s nice quality glass and a great style that looks good with other pieces.