Ripley Auctions


2764 E. 55th Place, Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
317-251-5635

About Auction House

The company’s owner, Dan Ripley, is an internationally recognized, art and antiques expert with over 30 years of personal experience dealing at the highest levels of the industry. He is a third generation Indianapolis art dealer, a Certified Estate Specialist, and National Auctioneers Association member. Dan is considered a premiere decorative arts expert and an award winning gallery owner. He has written feature articles for professional collector publications and has been a presentation speaker at the national convention of the International Society of Appraisers.

Auction Previews & News

5 Results
  • Auction Review Oddities and Collectibles From the Guinness World Records Museum1
    Auction Result
    Auction Review: Oddities and Collectibles From the Guinness World Records Museum

    On February 12th, 2021, Ripley Auctions sold over 100 items from the now-closed Guinness World Records Museum in Niagara Falls, Canada. The sale enjoyed a 99% sell-through rate. Announced shortly after the museum permanently closed in September of 2020, the auction offered life-sized versions of record holders, various visual displays, and several authentic items. Bidding took place online with a live-streaming option. “It’s our understanding that no one’s really ever tried this before,” Steve Blaney, the Manager of Development at the Niagara Clifton Group, told WGRZ before the auction. “In reaching out, looking for auction companies that were open to basically auctioning off a museum… no one’s ever heard of it.” Atari Hercules coin-op pinball game from the Guinness World Records Museum. Image from Ripley Auctions. The top lot of the auction was a vintage Atari pinball machine that holds the record for the World’s Largest Pinball. It measures over seven feet long. The machine sold for CAD 10,000 (USD 7,875) against an estimate of CAD 1,500 to $2,500 (USD 1,180 - $1,970). Made in 1979, the game is Hercules-themed. The winning bidder also received several custom museum signs with the game, including facts about the fastest time to clear two pool tables (one minute and 33 seconds) and the most successful coin-operated arcade game (Pac-Man).  A Wurlitzer vinyl jukebox also gathered bids earlier this month. The museum acquired this One More Time (OMT) replica jukebox for a Pop and Rock display in the mid-1980s. Designed in 1946, collectors consider the Wurlitzer OMT one of the most iconic jukeboxes of the post-war era. The museum replica sold for CAD 8,000 (USD 6,300).  Wurlitzer One More Time replica jukebox from the Guinness World Records Museum. Image from Ripley Auctions. Collectors also took an interest in the World’s Smallest Bicycle, which measures just six inches high. Performer Charly Charles built it for his act at the Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas. It reached CAD 3,800 (USD 3,000) against an estimate of CAD 500 to $1,000 (USD 400 - $790).  Various oddities and museum displays performed well, including a coin-op mock electric…

    AuctionDaily
  • Items From The Now-closed Guinness Museum Of World Records Will Be Sold In An Online-only Auction Ending Feb. 12th By Ripley Auctions
    Auction Industry, Press Release
    Items From The Now-closed Guinness Museum Of World Records Will Be Sold In An Online-only Auction Ending Feb. 12th By Ripley Auctions

    The auction is packed with over 100 lots of curious oddities, circus sideshow items, arts and entertainment memorabilia, music and sports collectibles, museum displays, coin-op interactive exhibits, sculpted characters, artifacts and even some smaller items such as record wall plaques. A candidate for top lot of the auction is this Wurlitzer Model OMT 1015 jukebox, restored, which plays 45 rpm records (est. $4,000-$5,000). INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Collectors interested in owning a genuine Guinness World Record item, ranging from the world’s smallest bicycle to the world’s largest pinball machine (Atari Hercules) to a coin-operated animated electric chair exhibit, will get their chance in an online-only auction of items previously displayed at the now-closed Guinness Museum of World Records in Niagara Falls, Canada. Every item in the auction is accompanied by an official certificate of authenticity. The auction is being conducted by Ripley Auctions in Indianapolis and the catalog is online now, at www.ripleyauctions.com/online-auctions/. Bidding ends on Friday, February 12th, at 5 pm Eastern time and is available thru LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be taken. The preview is virtual, at www.ripleyauctions.com.  The auction is officially titled Ripley’s Remarkable Rarities Presents Guinness World Records Museum of Niagara Falls Auction. Ripley Entertainment, Inc., which is not affiliated with Ripley Auctions, owns the Guinness World Records brand. It has operated the museum in Canada since its grand opening in 1978 until its closing in September 2020, making the exhibit items available. “In less than twenty hours since the posting of the catalog online, we’ve generated over 500,000 lot views and $200,000 in early bids,” said Dan Ripley, president and owner of Ripley Auctions. “We encourage everyone to watch and bid live, while enjoying a unique and entertaining live-stream event. The live-stream production is unique to any live auction event I’m aware of.” The auction features over 100 lots of oddities, circus sideshow items, arts and entertainment memorabilia, music and sports collectibles, museum displays, coin-operated interactive exhibits, sculpted characters, artifacts, and even smaller items such as record wall plaques. All interested parties can subscribe to Ripley Auctions emails on the…

    AuctionDaily
  • Oil Paintings By Lois Dodd, Mercedes Carles Matter And Gillian Ayres Combine For $150,000 At Ripley Auctions Estate Art & Antiques Auction
    Auction Result, Press Release
    Oil Paintings By Lois Dodd, Mercedes Carles Matter And Gillian Ayres Combine For $150,000 At Ripley Auctions Estate Art & Antiques Auction

    The auction, which grossed $350,000, was headlined by items from the estate of the legendary conductor and composer Raymond Leppard (1927-2019), a Grammy-winning recording artist Large, 66 inch by 48 inch oil on canvas painting by Lois Dodd (American, b. 1927), untitled (Can’t See the End Table for the Trees), with a Fischbach, N.Y. gallery label verso ($71,875). INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Original oil on canvas paintings by Lois Dodd (American, b. 1927), Mercedes Carles Matter (American, 1913-2001) and Gillian Ayres (UK, 1930-2018) sold for a combined $150,000, and a beautiful black ebony Bosendorfer grand piano played a sweet tune for $53,125 in a live and online auction held Jan. 16 by Ripley Auctions, based in Indianapolis. Colorful, untitled abstract still life oil painting by Mercedes Carles Matter (American, 1913-2001), painted in 1962, 43 inches by 49 ½ inches (image area, less frame) ($65,624).  The Estate Art & Antiques auction was headlined by items from the estate of the legendary British conductor and composer Raymond Leppard (1927-2019), a Grammy-winning recording artist and scholarly revivalist of 16th and 17th century baroque operas. Also offered were fine items pulled from prominent estates and collections in the Indianapolis area – 325 lots in all. In addition to the Raymond Leppard items, the auction catalog was packed with Italian and American studio glass, musical instruments, modern paintings, sculptures and decorative accessories. Around 20 people attended the auction in person, in the Ripley Auctions gallery, while hundreds of others bid online via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip. Andrea Hastings, Ripley Auctions’ Vice President and Head of Inventory, said, “Recently we’ve achieved auction record prices for some of New York’s post-modern female artists who I’m happy to see are getting due recognition.” She was referring to the paintings by Dodd and Matter, whose paintings were the auction’s two top earners. The Gillian Ayres work was the third top lot. The large, 66 inch by 48 inch painting by Lois Dodd was untitled (Can’t See the End Table for the Trees) and depicts just that: an end table amongst a group of trees. It had a Fischbach, N.Y. gallery…

    AuctionDaily
  • Items from the estate of British composer-conductor Raymond Leppard will be auctioned January 16th by Ripley Auctions
    Auction Industry
    Items from the estate of British composer-conductor Raymond Leppard will be auctioned January 16th by Ripley Auctions

    Leppard (1927-2019) was a legendary Grammy-winning recording artist and scholarly revivalist of 16th and 17th century baroque operas. He also had a warm heart. Beyond his music genius, Raymond's warm character, generous heart and good humor endeared him to the likes of Queen Elizabeth, who made him a Commander of the British Empire in 1983. INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATES, December 28, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Items from the estate of the legendary British conductor and composer Raymond Leppard (1927-2019), a Grammy-winning recording artist and scholarly revivalist of 16th and 17th century baroque operas, will come up for bid in a live and online auction slated for Saturday, January 16th, by Ripley Auctions. The 315-lot auction will begin at 11am Eastern time. The Maestro’s personal collection includes a rare and notable library of 100+ books, featuring orchestral, choral and operatic scores, historical reference material and music theory volumes, many dating from the 17th through the 19th century. Highlights include works by Bach, Rossini, Mozart, Handel, Schubert, Wagner, Tartini, Stamitz, Burney, Britten, Elgar, Stanley and others. Four Volumes: General History of Music from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period by Charles Burney, Printed for the Author, with three first editions, 1732 & 1739 (est. $1,500-$2,500). “In addition to his musical genius, Raymond Leppard was known for his warm character, generous heart and good humor. This endeared him to the likes of Queen Elizabeth - the Queen Mother – Princess Margaret, Benjamin Britten, Frederica Von Stade, Dame Janet Baker and members of the infamous Bloomsbury group, among others,” said Kristen Hein, Vice President of Development for Ripley Auctions. Most of the lots in the auction are from the Leppard estate, which also features many of his personal effects, artworks and decorative accessories. The balance of the catalog consists of fine items pulled from prominent estates and collections in the Indianapolis area. Notably, Raymond Leppard served as music conductor for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1987-2001. Multi-volume sets will include the three-volume Mémoires ou Essais sur la Musique. Tome Premier, Duxieme, Troisieme. Par le C. en. Grétry. Published by de l'Imprimerie de la République, A Paris, 1797 (est.…

    EIN Presswire
  • Single owner lifetime collection of Eisenberg Originals mostly vintage costume jewelry will be auctioned September 12
    Auction Industry
    Single-owner lifetime collection of Eisenberg Originals, mostly vintage costume jewelry, will be auctioned September 12

    Also sold will be clothing, handbags, perfumes, compacts, cosmetics, belts and original advertisements, all from company’s heyday from the 1920s to the 1950s. Sharon Schwartz isn’t just a collector of Eisenberg Originals, she wrote the definitive book on the topic, titled Eisenberg Originals, The Golden Years of Fashion, Jewelry and Fragrance, 1920s-1950s. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., UNITED STATES, July 24, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A single-owner lifetime collection of Eisenberg Originals – mostly dazzling costume jewelry pieces but also to include clothing, handbags, perfumes, compacts, cosmetics, belts and original advertisements, all from company’s heyday from the 1920s to the 1950s – will be sold in a live and online auction Saturday, September 12th by Ripley Auctions. The auction will begin promptly at 11 am Eastern time in Ripley Auctions’ gallery located at 2764 East 55th Place in Indianapolis. Online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Previews will be held by appointment only, the week before the auction. To schedule an appointment, call 317-251-5635. Sharon Schwartz was a seasoned antique dealer and collector but had never even heard of Eisenberg when she entered an antique shop in the late 1980s to browse and there spotted a gorgeous rhinestone piece. “On the back it said, ‘Eisenberg Originals’,” she said. “I fell in love and started collecting. I tried to learn more about Eisenberg but there was very little out there.” Iconic sterling vermeil mermaid brooch holding strands of aquamarine crystals, with aquamarine crystal torso and red enamel lips (est. $1,200-$1,800). Between then and now, Schwartz had accumulated so many Eisenberg Originals – around 500 items in all – and acquired so much knowledge about the company that she wrote a book, titled Eisenberg Originals, The Golden Years of Fashion, Jewelry and Fragrance, 1920s-1950s. The book was co-authored by Laura Sutton, a friend and collector. It’s available for sale on Amazon. “The auction will be organized in the order of the book,” said Kristen Hein of Ripley Auctions. “We will literally start with page one and go through the last page of her book, offering lots in the order they are…

    EIN Presswire