- Posts about Normandie
- Normandie Basics
- Pieces of Normandie
- Normandie Availability, Prices
- Normandie Reproduction and Damage Concerns
Posts About Normandie
Collecting Depression Glass – Normandie by Federal Glass
Collecting Fun: Normandie Depression Glass Prices Over Time
Just How Availabile Is Normandie Depression Glass – Pink and Amber |
Normandie Pink and Amber Depression Glass – Pieces to Find
Normandie Pink and Amber Depression Glass – Collecting Fun!
Glass Pick of the Week – Normandie Amber Depression Glass Pitcher
Pink Saturday – Normandie Bouquet & Lattice Depression Glass
What’s In a Name? Normandie Bouquet & Lattice Amber Depression Glass
Madrid Depression Glass from Federal
Depression Glass Pitchers – Eye Candy
Eye Candy from the 2016 Depression Glass Show
Avoid Reproduction Pink Depression Glass – Collecting Fun
Three Reasons to Love Depression Glass
Curvy Rims and Curly Designs – Patrician Spoke Depression Glass
Tip of the Week! Check Pitchers for Cracks and Damage
Normandie Basics
Federal Glass made Normandie from 1933 to 1940 in pink, amber, Sunburst, which is a dark iridescent orange, and some crystal. This is a mold etched pattern which Federal made by etching the design into the molds, not etching each piece of glass on the glass itself. This allowed fast, cheap production.
Collectors in the early 1970s made nicknames for many patterns, often because they did not know the original manufacturer name. Normandie was called “Bouquet and Lattice” which describes the pattern well. Flat rims of plates and bowls have curvy edges while cups, sherbets, creamers and sugars have smooth tops.
Normandie Pieces
From what I can see in my reference books, Federal made every piece in pink or amber, most pieces in iridescent. Normandie is a dinnerware pattern. There are 4 plates, sherbet liner, salad plate, luncheon and dinner, plus a grill plate. An amber luncheon plate was the very first piece of depression glass I ever owned.
Plates and bowls are pretty. The flower and trellis design is on the rim with a flower garland jus inside the rim and on the base with a motif in the center. This is the salad plate.
And the grill plate in iridescent.
Federal made two bowls for place settings, a small berry and a larger, deeper cereal. Bowls are hard to find in many depression glass patterns but we have had both sizes in either amber or iridescent. Cereal is first.
And this is the berry. Notice the iridescence somewhat obscures the pretty design.
Cup, saucer and sherbet round out the pieces for individual place settings.
Normandie has a decent array of serving pieces, two serving bowls, a platter, salt and pepper, creamer and sugar and pitcher. Here are photos of the shakers, creamer and pitcher.
Notice how the pattern is smoother, not as clear on the pitcher.
Federal made tumblers too in both amber and pink. I’ve not seen them unfortunately. The sizes are 5 ounce juice, 9 ounce water and 12 ounce iced tea. The tumblers are flat.
Federal did not make Sunburst iridescent Normandie salad plates, pitcher, tumblers or sugar lid.
How Available is Normandie?
I got about 15 pieces of Normandie over the 20 years I bought and sold glass. I was buying for resale, so passed up buying some pieces. If you look locally or at antique malls, estate sales, you may find small sets or even a collector who is selling off their glass. Otherwise your best bet is online or a glass show.
Looking online at Replacements and eBay (June 2024) I see many listings for cups, saucers, sherbets, some of the smaller plates and bowls, even shakers and a few tumblers. The scarcer pieces, such as sugar lid and dinner plate, are unavailable or else very costly. Be aware that not all the tumblers are true Normandie depression glass. If the pattern has a heart then it is not Normandie, it is a Cracker Barrel release in the same style. This isn’t a fake, simply a 1990s design based on a lovely depression pattern.
There are more pieces of amber Normandie available online, and the prices I saw seem to be in line with a moderately popular, moderately available depression glass pattern. Piece prices for many items on eBay are well under the book values in my 2010 Gene Florence reference guide, even including shipping. (Replacements generally has higher prices for the less available pieces such as pink tumblers.)
If you are considering buying or selling and want to use online services such as eBay I recommend you get familiar with availability and prices first as they may vary. Of course you need to verify condition too when you cannot see before purchase.
The iridescent Normandie is usually easier to find both in person and online and none of the pieces are particularly uncommon or expensive.
Amber Normandie is an ideal pattern to collect as it has a mix of easy and hard to find pieces, a lovely design and is generally affordable.
Normandie Reproduction and Damage Concerns
To the best of my knowledge no one has reproduced Normandie, making it a good candidate to collect. As noted above, Cracker Barrel released some cute pink glasses that have a similar design, but you can avoid these easily. The Cracker Barrel pattern has a heart in the motif while Normandie has flowers.
The pictures I saw online of the heart pattern looked like the lattice might be somewhat different too, but focus on hearts vs flowers and you will be fine.
Normandie plates and bowls are shaped much like Patrician pieces and have a flat rim with a sharp drop off to the interior. This drop off amounts to an inner rim that gets nicked. Check around the outside rim and the inside rim using both your eyes and your fingers. I did not see as many nicked Normandie pieces as I did Patrician.
Overall
Normandie is a delightful pattern, true depression glass with a mold-etched pattern of lattices and flowers, and Federal made it in their light amber and a lovely pink and some iridescent. You can collect amber without much difficulty while pink is somewhat more scarce, at least for some pieces. Cups and sherbets seem the most ubiquitous in either color.
As always, enjoy your glass!