New Martinsville Glass Company

History of The New Martinsville Glass Company:

The year is 1901. Glass companies are popping up all over the United States. The New Martinsville Glass Manufacturing Company was among them, establishing itself in West Virginia.

One of the distinctive features of Martinsville Glass was their use of color right from the outset. This really set them apart and made them a leader in creative glass manufacturing. At this juncture, the company focused heavily on tableware accessories. However it didn’t take long for the firm to realize that other avenues could bring more profits. So the New Martinsville Glass Manufacturing Company expanded into making decanters, vanity sets, lamps and various novelties.

The 1920s saw Martinsville Glass continuing with the items they knew worked. The line included pressed glass serving ware for the family table, candlesticks, perfume bottles, powder jars, and liquor and smoking sets. Speaking of which, you have to really give props to any company who was creating brightly adorned liquor sets in the middle of prohibition years (and they sold!). At this juncture the most popular color of glass in the Martinsville line seems to be a distinctive dark sky-blue.

Notable Styles

New Martinsville Glass Company manufactured two Depression Glass Patterns, Moonstone and Radiance. Other popular patterns are:

Epic Pattern – six-petal designed favored for candy dishes

Janice pattern – typically in clear, blue or red (typically in candlesticks)

Pattern 415 – clear glass with an upswept tail that looks like a squirl

Come the 1930s some of the prevalent hues for Martinsville Glass include ruby, amerina, olive green and of course amber. The depression glass produced by this company during this decade remains very collectible and in many cases affordable.

By 1940 World War Two was already starting to take its toll on many business and the glass industry was no exception. Various companies combined during the next decade in order to survive. In 1944 the Viking Glass Company (known for Swedish styled glassware) acquired the New Martinsville Glass Manufacturing Company. The key advantage here was that Viking sold mostly pressed glassed, while New Martinsville had a hand-made line known for quality.

Sadly the firm closed its doors over a decade ago in 1998.

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