When you were little, did you have a set of doll dishes?  (Or for the guys, did your sister have a set?)  I did.  Mine were the pieces from two sets, a few plates made in Japan and a few pieces of Blue Willow.  Mine were china.  Today you can find china and plastic, but I doubt you’ll find glass doll dishes.

Back in the depression Jeannette made children’s size dishes in a Cherry Blossom and Doric and Pansy.  You would think it would be pretty easy to tell them apart since the doll dishes were made for little girls and the regular size for adult use at the dinner table.  Surprisingly enough, it is not always that easy just based on measurements.

An eBay user named Dave contacted me about his mom’s Doric and Pansy saucers because she wanted the matching cups.  Interestingly, her saucers are 4 1/2 inches across while the full size saucers are 5 1/2 inches across.  That doesn’t sound like much but the difference is very noticeable when you add the cup and make a set.

Here is the doll cup and saucer in pink.  Jeannette called the children’s glass “Pretty Polly”.  It’s super cute.

Pretty Polly Pink Cup and Saucer Doric and Pansy Pink Depression Glass

The Pretty Polly cup is 3 inches across at the lip and 1 1/2 inches tall. It looks shorter and wider in proportion than the adult size and the shape is different. Here is the adult cup and saucer in ultramarine.

Doric and Pansy Utramarine Cup and Saucer Teal Depression Glass

The ultramarine cup is 3 1/2 inches across and 2 1/8 inches tall. That’s only 1/2 inch wider than the toy cup. The dimensions seem so similar that even experienced collectors get confused. I’ve had customers who thought they were buying the child’s size and now I include the phrase “full size” or “adult size” in my listing titles.

Jeannette made the doll set in pink and in the ultramarine teal colored glass; I didn’t see. From what I can tell the toy glass is a little more costly than the adult size, but not hugely so, and the two colors are priced pretty close to each other. I didn’t see any mention of the child set in crystal although Jeannette made crystal full size basic dinnerware pieces.

I hope this helps any of you who are curious whether you have doll dishes or dinner set pieces.

Normandie Amber Depression Glass Pitcher Bouquet and Lattice

I was gardening today drenched with bug spray because the mosquitoes are horrific, never seen them this bad. It felt so good to come in, wash up and sit down here in my cool office with my glass to put together a blog post for you.

This week’s pick is this warm colored Normandie depression glass from Federal. I like Normandie for its pretty design of flower bouquets in between trellis motifs, the lovely warm amber color and the scalloped shapes. The very first piece of depression glass I bought was a Normandie plate at an auction.

I haven’t had many pieces of Normandie over the years. For some reason it’s not as abundant as its contemporary patterns from Federal, Madrid or Patrician. This is puzzling because Federal made Normandie in amber for quite a long time, 1933 to 1940. Besides this pretty amber Federal made pink, a few pieces of clear and a dark orange iridescent.

Amber Normandie is quite affordable, one of the least costly of the mold etched patterns. A tumbler, usually among the more costly items, lists for $20 to $30, and my pitcher is under $80 including shipping. The pink Normandie is more expensive than the amber but still quite reasonable for common pieces although some of the rare pink pieces are pricey.

Collectors nicknamed Normandie Bouquet and Lattice, a perfect name that describes the design. No one has reproduced Normandie, so it is safe to buy, but do be aware that Cracker Barrel sells glass that has a heart with lattices, similar at first glance.

I hope you enjoy your weekend and manage to avoid losing too much blood to those pesky mosquitoes.