Auction News

Ivey – Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers August Jackson Rooms Auction

August 20th, 2010 by

Auction: Aug. 25th & 26th  9:30am

Saint Louis, Missouri

Dallag Auction Gallery – Antiques & Fine Art Auction

August 20th, 2010 by

Auction Sept. 1st  6pm

Featuring a one owner collection of English, European, and American paintings

Aspire Auctions Fine Art & Antiques – The Ellen Gries Cole Online Auction

August 20th, 2010 by

Exhibition Aug 27th – Sept. 1st  11am – 7pm, closed Sunday

Bidding begins: Aug. 27th, Lots close Sept. 2nd

Featuring:

William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916), Estimated $150,000/$250,000

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919), Estimated  $50,000/$60,000

S & S Auction, Inc. – August Decorative Arts Sale

August 20th, 2010 by

Welcome to S&S Auction!

Join us for our August Decorative Arts Sale on Monday August 23rd at 8:00am!

This auction will include a fine selection of over 2000 lots of antiques and accessories from area homes and estates. Included will be a collection of fine antiques, furniture, art, decorative accessories and 20th c. design.

Approximately 100 select lots will be available for online bidding through Artfact.com.

If you cannot attend, ple ase contact us and we will be happy to assist you in arranging absentee or phone bidding.

Visit our website at www.ssauction.com

We look forward to seeing you!



Stair Auctioneers & Appraisers – Exposition Auction

August 19th, 2010 by

Auction August 28th, 2010

Featuring:

Property of the Estate of Leila Hadley Luce, Porcelain and Pottery, Furniture, Decorations, Jewelry and Coins, Musical Instruments, Paintings, Prints and other works of Art, Carpets and Rugs, Lighting, Silver, Silverplate and Metalwork.


Oklahoma City Estate Sale

August 17th, 2010 by

Susanin’s – Marketplace and Collectibles Auction

August 17th, 2010 by

Auction August 21st, 2010  10am

Marketplace and Collectibles 87
485 Lots Catalogued
Live! Auction in Chicago
August 21, 2010 * 10:00 AM
Preview
Begins Monday August 16th
Open throughout the week from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Extended viewing until 7:00 pm on Thursday, August 19th
Preview from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm on Saturday, August 21th

Leslie Hindeman Auctioneers – Marketplace Auction

August 17th, 2010 by

Marketplace Auction – August 25th – 26th, 2010

For more than a decade, Marketplace auctions have been a staple of the Leslie Hindman Auctioneers experience. Known for eclectic offerings, our Marketplace auctions feature reproduction furniture and accessories and decorative fine art from estates, collectors and institutions, perfect for both the novice and seasoned collector.

Antiquehelper.com – Fine Art, Antiques & Estate Jewelry

August 17th, 2010 by

Our August 21st auction catalog is now online! This sale catalog will start at 10am with a 2nd ring for jewelry and a Discovery session immediately following. Absentee bidding is currently underway until 8am day of sale. Please attend our gallery preview Friday evening until 7pm if you are available.  Submit absentee bids on our website to insure your participation and login Saturday at Artfact Live to bid live, listen and view live during the sale!

Work begins on deluxe 17,000-square-foot addition to Dan Morphy Auctions Gallery

August 11th, 2010 by

This electronic sign stands in front of Dan Morphy Auctions’s current facility, seen in background. Dan Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – Construction crews have broken ground at Dan Morphy Auctions’ south-central Pennsylvania premises to initiate a 6-month expansion project that will nearly double the firm’s existing gallery, office, preview and storage space to 35,000 square feet. Upon completion, Morphy’s full-service venue will rank among the largest of all eastern U.S. auction houses.

“Our growth has been explosive. We’ve more than tripled the number of sales we conduct annually – from six or seven a year to more than 30 a year,” said the company’s owner and CEO, Dan Morphy. “We’ve been bursting at the seams and need more display space, more storage and office space, and a large, purpose-built auction room to handle the volume of sales.”

When completed, the preview gallery will feature an additional 4,000 square feet of display area, enabling consigned articles to be viewed for several months prior to sale.

Eight additional office spaces, a conference room and individual executive offices are part of the plan, as are three self-contained photography studios. “Based on the number of collections that had been coming in, we could foresee that we were going to need these additional studios,” said Morphy.

An architect’s rendering of what the auction gallery’s saleroom will look like reveals an Arts & Crafts flavor in the choice of furniture and fabrics. Image courtesy of Althouse, Martin & Associates.

The jewel in Morphy’s crown is the proposed 4,000-square-foot ballroom-style auction gallery with 110 theater-style seats, each with a fold-over lap desk and cup holder. Four of the seats will accommodate physically challenged bidders. The acoustically perfect saleroom will be independently climate controlled and specially wired for the latest electronic and Internet devices, and will be enhanced by a chandeliered tin ceiling, marble floor and professionally designed dais for phone-bidding lines. Auction attendees  will be able to dine in the adjacent café – where they’ll be able to follow the sale on a 5-foot TV screen – or out on the patio, where additional seating will be provided.

The new construction will also create a fully enclosed loading and unloading dock with a hydraulic lift that adjusts to any truck or van height, and an adjacent 1,000-square-foot holding area for goods to be loaded in or out. From there, incoming consignments are easily movable to a custom-built 9,000-square-foot storage space with a 25-foot-high ceiling and museum-quality storage rack system that can accommodate everything from fine art to jukeboxes.

Other amenities to be added are a black-light room, more restrooms and a 600-square-foot checkout and packing room where Morphy staff, or the customers themselves, can pack up their purchases.

A top-notch security system will be installed, adding another 26 surveillance cameras to those currently in use. A new digital phone system has already been installed.

Eighty new parking spaces will be created, and the gallery’s façade will undergo a mini makeover with the installation of a beautiful hotel-style canopy extending from the front door. “This new feature is more than just cosmetic. It’s also functional,” said Morphy. “Our customers will appreciate it when it’s raining or snowing, or if they’ve purchased a large or heavy item and want to drive up to collect it.”

Left to right: Tom Sage Jr., chief operating officer; Kris Lee, general manager; and Dan Morphy, owner and CEO of Dan Morphy Auctions examine the architectural plans for the gallery expansion. Dan Morphy Auctions image.

Morphy said he feels very fortunate that his auction business and on-site Adamstown Antique Gallery have performed as well as they have in the midst of an economic recession. “I think our growth can be attributed to the way we run our operation and the way we treat our bidders and consignors, who tell us they like the way we promote and advertise our sales. They especially like the extended preview period, which is something Morphy’s is known for.”

“We’re a relatively young company, now in our seventh year. The antiques community has welcomed us, and the word has gotten out about how we change with the times and reinvest our profits into new technology and marketing strategies,” Morphy said. “We’ve been putting more money and effort into Internet exposure, and it has paid off. Five years ago, our auctions were 70 percent sold to in-house bidders, with 30 percent going to the Internet and phones. Now we sell 80 to 85 percent to the Internet and phones. People are more confident about buying through the Internet and know they can trust our catalog descriptions and condition reports.”

The World Wide Web has made it possible for Dan Morphy Auctions to become an international presence, Morphy said. “The Web has exposed us to international clients who might not have found out about us as quickly through traditional methods. It’s a cheaper, faster, easier way of doing business.”

Morphy, a 38-year-old graduate of Penn State, said he has a 25- to 35-year business plan in mind and that the expansion is essential to its success. “The future of this company is very bright. In undertaking this expansion project, I’ve had the unwavering support of my family and my loyal, dedicated staff, who are very excited about what lies ahead for us.”

Morphy said others who are playing a key role in the evolution of Dan Morphy Auctions are Susquehanna Bank, who provided the financing for the new expansion, architects Althouse, Martin & Associates; and the award-winning local firm Benchmark Construction, which is widely known for its upscale commercial projects.

To contact Dan Morphy, call 717-335-3435 or e-mail dan@morphyauctions.com. Visit Dan Morphy Auctions online at www.morphyauctions.com.