ABOUT US
Who We Are
We are a family owned and operated auction house recognized as the leading seller of American stoneware & redware pottery in the world, and looked to as the preeminent authority on the subject. Crocker Farm is Anthony, Barbara, Brandt, Luke, and Mark Zipp, and when you contact us, you will speak directly with a member of the Zipp family. We have been selling American utilitarian pottery since 1983 and possess an unsurpassed knowledge of the art form. As the industry leader in what we do, we hold virtually ever major world auction record and have achieved well over $50 million sold. We are based out of our historic gallery, the 1841 Gorsuch Barn, in Sparks, Maryland. (Click here to read a brief biography!)
What We Provide For You
The industry standard:
Major success stories coming from our auctions are now almost countless. Each auction we conduct features objects that achieve head-turning levels of value, often solely because they were being sold by us.
Knowledge is everything in the sale of antique American pottery. Who made your object? Is anything special about it? Is there some small nuance that turns a $500 object into a $5000 one, or a $5000 object into a $50,000 one? What is its condition? Has it had any professional repairs? Is there some specialized research that can be attached to it? These are all questions that we, and we alone, as an auction house can answer.
We are the organization that the entire American stoneware ecosystem relies upon to drive the market: Our prices set market values. Our opinions behind-the-scenes are constantly consulted by the highest levels of the American folk art community, and are treated as the final word. Stoneware is our passion and we are always working to promote stoneware, research stoneware, and build up the American stoneware market--a market that finds its primary home at Crocker Farm.
Unmatched handling of your objects:
Your pottery will be professionally photographed by our very own Luke Zipp, the most experienced photographer of American stoneware in the world. It will be catalogued and professionally evaluated by our very own Mark Zipp, nationally recognized for his extensive knowledge and unmatched body of written work cataloguing American ceramics. It will be included in both our famous print catalog--regularly acquired by high-level collectors, museums and dealers--as well our online catalog, featured on this website, widely understood to be the home of American stoneware on the internet. Meanwhile our proprietary bidding platform, developed specifically for our website, is consistently praised as a gold standard in the industry.
We possess an extreme, granular knowledge of the American stoneware market unparalleled in our field. Who are the major collectors? What are they acquiring right now? What museums are currently seeking a key piece for their collection? What small segment of the market is currently hot right now? To whom should specific pieces be marketed? Who deserves a special email or phone call to let them know that a key piece is selling? The long-standing relationships we have with collectors, dealers and museums stretch back to the 1970's, and these relationships are key in achieving the prices we do.
These factors really do matter, and matter a great deal. They are very often the difference between an object bringing a few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars, between one bringing a few thousand dollars or tens of thousands of dollars. In one extreme recent example, in 2023 we witnessed a small flask bring $72,000 at our auction when it had brought under $2,500 only a year before at another, high profile, generalist auction company. Why did this happen? American ceramics are not baseball cards or coins, and their value is heavily tied to nuances--nuances that often rest strongly on the interpretation and knowledge of who is selling them.
Extensive advertising campaigns:
In the major antiques trade papers (Maine Antique Digest, Antiques and the Arts Weekly, Antique Week, etc.) Click here to view an example of one of our print ads.
Through high-quality, print mailings to our massive mailing list. Click here to view an example of one of our mailings.
Through our large social media following, email list and, perhaps most importantly, via our own website, the most prominent for our field.
Very fair rates:
Our seller's commission is as low as 12.5%--one of the lowest you will find for the services we offer. (Click here for more information.)
Honesty and integrity:
Our belief in being completely honest in all of our business dealings and as transparent as possible in our auctions informs everything we do, a chief example being our famous painstaking condition reports. While many other auction houses provide little (or even no) information about the condition of the objects they are selling--or in some cases even turn a blind eye to potential major condition issues--we work very hard to provide you with honest and thorough condition reports, informed by critical knowledge not possessed by other companies. Incidentally, widespread trust in our company is a big factor in the prices we realize.
Please have a look at our Bio, our FAQ, and the many Articles About Us for more info ...