Page 23 has a black and white illustration of a Powell chandelier c.1865 with ruby and green leaves, so we know the colour was used. I thought I remembered seeing a reference to them winning an award for colour around that time, but I can't seem to find it now. The earliest ruby piece in the coloured plates is a section for Venetian inspired pieces from 1870-1910 and the ruby tazza is "pre-1910".
It certainly looks as though 19th century ruby pieces would be a rare find.