Morphy's names head of new pop culture department

DENVER, Pa. – Morphy Auctions’ Antique & Vintage Toy division is in expansion mode yet again. Dan Morphy, founder and president of Morphy Auctions, announced today that Tom Miano of Serious Toyz™ has joined the Pennsylvania company’s team of specialists. Miano, whose new title is Pop Culture Expert, will be acquiring consignments and managing sales of vintage toys and pop-culture collectibles for Morphy’s, starting with a September 6 auction of character, postwar and space toys.

“Tom’s auction house, Serious Toyz™, is a favorite with collectors. They love it. In the 19

Tom Miano, founder of Serious Toyz, recently teamed up with Morphy Auctions to become part of that company, and will now serve as the head of a pop culture department at Morphy's.

years that Tom has been the hands-on owner and operator of the company, he has built an outstanding reputation,” said Morphy. “He’s well liked by everyone in the industry, and consignors know they can depend on his knowledge and expertise. He will be a tremendous asset to our operation.”

The addition of a dedicated pop culture department completes the timeline of toys and collectibles offered in specialty sales at Morphy’s, which is already a worldwide force in the auction of antique, prewar vintage, and postwar boomer-era toys.

Until now, the only toy classification at Morphy’s that didn’t have its own expert-led department was pop culture and collectibles, said Morphy. “Now, with Tom Miano and Serious Toyz™ merging into Morphy’s, it adds the final link we have been missing. Even better, it eliminates the job of building a new department organically from the ground up. It has already been built and fine-tuned by Tom, who is the best in the business. He has many consignors and customers that we didn’t have on our books, and vice versa. One side complements the other very nicely,” Morphy said.

Miano, who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, began his career as an advertising art director at Foote, Cone & Belding. He later held creative director positions at several other leading international advertising agencies, including McCann-Erickson, J. Walter Thompson, and Ogilvy & Mather. In 1995, Miano decided to leave the corporate world in order to pursue his long-held dream of establishing an auction company focused exclusively on toys, collectibles and pop culture memorabilia.

“Starting up and building Serious Toyz™ into what it is today was a learning process from day one,” Miano said. “In the beginning, my wife Patti and I did everything manually, with sheets of paper taped to our kitchen wall. Every time a bid would come in over the phone, we’d add it to the sheet of paper for that particular auction item. Of course, over the years our methods became a lot more sophisticated, but it’s nothing compared to the amazing operation Dan has in place at Morphy’s. The first time I visited his gallery, it was like finding the Promised Land. I feel very privileged to have been asked to join his team.”

Morphy Auctions’ strength in technology and social media is a natural fit for the Serious Toyz™ demographic, Miano said. “To reach a global audience, the company utilizes four Internet live-bidding platforms, including its own, Morphy Live. They’re ideally positioned to interact with pop culture collectors worldwide.”

Tom Miano is currently organizing toy consignments for Morphy’s September 6 auction, which was previously advertised as Serious Toyz™ Auction #56. To contact Tom Miano, call the business number previously used by Serious Toyz™: 866-653-8699, or email tom@serioustoyz.com.

To contact Morphy’s gallery, call 717-335-3435. Visit Morphy Auctions online at www.morphyauctions.com.