DENVER, Pa. – Dan Morphy of Morphy Auctions has announced a merger with Maine auction house James D. Julia, Inc.. Julia’s will now operate as a division of Morphy Auctions. The teams from both auction houses will be blended.
Morphy Auctions realized $35 million dollars in sales this year. Within this same timeframe, Julia’s generated $43 million dollars in annual sales, for a combined gross of $78 million dollars.
Jim Julia, president and founder of James D. Julia Inc., has been involved in the auction business for nearly 50 years. He began as a country auctioneer in Maine but grew his company to an internationally renowned business that currently consists of 3 divisions: Rare Firearms, Lamps, Glass & Fine Jewelry, and Fine Arts, Asian & Antiques. Morphy Auctions has experienced tremendous growth over the years, adding many new specialty divisions.
Dan Morphy, founder and president of Morphy Auction Company, stated, “I have literally spent all my life watching and learning from Jim. With nearly 50 years in the industry, Jim has an undisputed reputation and I admire and will emulate his business approach towards his clients and employees. It is an honor and privilege to have this new association with someone I have considered to be a mentor and leader in the industry.’
“Over the years, Jim Julia crafted an extraordinary team and unique auction company as a result of his philosophy, business acumen and direct, honest approach with his clients whether they be buyers or sellers,” Morphy continued. “I have always tried to incorporate the same approach. In merging with Julia’s extraordinary team, I intend to make the transition as seamless as possible. The bottom line is that I not only want to merge Jim Julia’s company and his people, but I want to expand the philosophy of our business to include much of what created extraordinary success for Jim.”
Julia reflected, “I had never considered not being in the auction business, and I have, for many years contended that I, like my father (who passed away at nearly 90 years old this past year), would continue to auction well into my 80s, provided my health allowed it. The limitation in my mind had always been my personal health. But in November of 2016, my wife received a devastating diagnosis of incurable brain cancer. I immediately realized that as much as I loved the people, the antiques, and the excitement of the auction; there was nothing more important in this world to me than my wife, and I elected to devote my time to my wife, Sandy. From November of 2016 until today, my auction company never skipped a beat and has been extremely successful under the leadership of my good friend and CEO, Mark Ford, who continued to lead, improve and expand our company.’
“A short while ago, Dan Morphy called to speak with me and asked if I would consider selling the company or doing some sort of joint venture,” Julia continued. “I explained to him that there were three things that were incredibly important to me. First, of course, was what was in the best interest of me and my wife; secondly, my obligation to my incredibly loyal and dedicated team of employees; and thirdly, wanting to do what would best serve all of the wonderful consignors and buyers that the company had developed over the years. The ensuing conversations with Dan, and ultimately the deal we were able to put together, allowed me to cover all three of these factors. The employee concern was a highly important one, and with Dan’s like-minded philosophy and practice with his current team, it instilled tremendous confidence in my people as they made their new career commitment to Morphy Auctions.” Julia said he will now transition to Morphy Auctions as a consultant for Dan and the team.”
Both the Morphy Auctions team and the Julia auction team will be present at the 2018 Las Vegas Arms Show, January 19-21, 2018. “We encourage anyone attending the show to stop by the booths and meet our newly blended and expanded Firearms auction team,” Dan Morphy said.
Julia’s has scheduled a Fine Arts, Asian & Antiques auction for February 2018, as well as a March Firearms auction. To facilitate a seamless transition, the Julia team will manage and conduct both sales in Fairfield, Maine, as they have in the past. Morphy’s will conduct all future auctions and accept consignments at their Pennsylvania and Nevada locations.
Click to view catalogs for upcoming Morphy Auctions events.
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