“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.

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.

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.

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.”

Contact: (717) 335-3435,

www.morphyauctions.com