January 28, 2025. 3:16pm. Thank you for your interest in our current auction of the Carole Wahler Collection, 302 lots of American ceramics presented without reserve. As we enter the final days of bidding, here are a few reminders / quick notes:
--First, to answer a common question we receive from new bidders, we do handle our own professional packing and shipping (via UPS) in-house, keeping the process as simple as possible. Final invoices automatically include your shipping / insurance cost, but you can of course still pick your items up, as many bidders do. (A few lots in the catalog have a note beneath their description indicating that they are too large for us to handle ourselves; these can be picked up, shipped by a third party fine art handler or via some other method of your choice.)
-- Bidders have until 9pm eastern on Friday, January 31, to participate in this auction. There will be a "soft" close on Friday evening, meaning that ten minutes are added to any given lot's countdown clock if it receives a bid at 8:50pm or later. A phone bidding session will begin at 10am on Saturday, February 1 (starting with Lot #1) for the top four bidders on items that have reached a bid level of $10,000 or more by Friday night's online auction close. All other lots sell on Friday night.
-- Just like our other recent auctions, beginning Friday morning at 10am, the website will begin notifying bidders if they are, in fact, in the top four for each lot. Remember that you must be one of the top four bidders to participate in Saturday's final phone bidding session on $10,000+ lots, and that your final bid must also be within 50% of the current high bid. (In other words, if a lot reaches a final bid on Friday night of $10,000, to qualify for Saturday's phone bidding, you must be one of the top four bidders, and have bid at least $5,000.)
-- We will be sending out a more detailed email about phone bidding and other end-of-auction notes as the week progresses. For those new to us, at the completion of bidding on Friday night, each bidder receives a detailed end-of-auction report via email, listing all of the items they've won, and any $10,000+ lots for which they will be called on Saturday.
All Our Best, Anthony, Barbara, Brandt, Luke & Mark Zipp
January 22, 2025. 3:21pm. Bidding has opened for our current auction of the Carole Wahler Collection. For those new to us, please familiarize yourself with the bidding process. Happy bidding! Our Best, The Zipps
January 13, 2025. 10:11am. Online Catalog Posted! The full online catalog for our upcoming auction of the Carole Carpenter Wahler Collection has been posted for preview as of 10am this morning. (Available here.)
Bidding starts on Wednesday, January 22, at 10am eastern, with online bidding closing at 9pm on Friday, January 31. Lots that reach a bid level of $10,000 by the online auction close are sold as part of the final phone bidding session on Saturday, February 1, at 10am; all other lots sell on the evening of January 31. (Please note that this is the same auction format we have been using since the beginning of 2020, except that the cutoff for phone bidding has now been raised to $10,000.)
Finally, we feel that the accompanying print catalog for this auction is the finest we have ever produced, and are excited to share it with you. We do still have copies available, and the cost is the same as our ordinary triannual auction catalogs, $30 plus $8.95 for Priority Mail. You can order a copy here: www.crockerfarm.com/store/
All our best, The Zipps
January 9, 2025. 10:32am. Catalogs are now shipping and the online catalog will be posted on Monday, January 13, at 10am eastern. We are very excited to be presenting Dr. Wahler's collection to you and hope that you enjoy seeing the fruit of her labors, decades spent assembling and researching one of the great American ceramics collections. For those new to us, please check out our How to Bid page to familiarize yourself with the bidding process, and we'll have more communications as we approach the start of bidding. All our best, The Zipps
January 1, 2025. 11:58am. Happy New Year! Our best wishes to all of you for a fantastic 2025.
December 18, 2024. 1:56pm.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! Pictured: Newly surfaced American face vessel from the Carole Wahler Collection (auction coming January 2025). Beaver, Pennsylvania, circa 1850, vessel fragment, face intact.
(We are closed for the holidays and will re-open on January 2. HAPPY NEW YEAR, see you in 2025!)
November 25, 2024. 1:29pm. Selected preview photos from our just-announced January 2025 auction have been posted today. This truly landmark, single-owner sale represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity, highlighting the legacy of renowned collector, curator, dealer, and scholar, Carole Carpenter Wahler (1937-2023). First photos and more information are available by clicking here.
November 4, 2024. 10:09am. Catalog Posted for Browsing: The full online catalog for our Fall 2024 auction has been posted in anticipation of the start of bidding on Wednesday morning. Click here to view it. The print catalog began shipping last week; if you'd like to order a copy, you can do so here. If you're not familiar with how the auction works or would like to sign up to bid, please have a look at our How to Bid page. (Please feel free to contact us with any questions.) Thanks so much for your interest in our auctions! All the Best, The Zipps
September 18, 2024. 12:12pm. FIRST PHOTOS: Added our first photographs of stoneware to be sold in our upcoming November 6 - 15 auction! Click here to view them. We are actively ACCEPTING CONSIGNMENTS for this sale. Please feel free to contact us to discuss including your pottery in this sale, which represents an exceptional opportunity to offer your pottery to our unparalleled customer base at a time when the market has never been stronger. Space is limited, so we always encourage prospective consignors to contact us as soon as possible. Thanks very much for your interest in our auctions! All Our Best, The Zipps
July 27, 2024. 3:14pm. With a $1.35 million sale total coming in at 35% over high estimate, we want to thank you for making our Summer 2024 Twentieth Anniversary Auction such a success! This sale surpassed several of our recent auctions and we are so grateful to all of you--bidders and consignors--for the critical role you have played in our business over the last 20 years!
Winning bidders will be receiving their invoices first thing Monday morning. Also, a special shout-out to the lucky winner of our 20th Anniversary Commemorative Stoneware Jar! We hope you love it, Ted. Thank you again to everyone. All our best, The Zipps
