Morris Butler House

Bid on Victorian artifacts from Indiana Landmarks’ Morris-Butler House during an auction benefiting preservation of the 1865 Second Empire-style home.

NOVEMBER 18, 2023 starting 11 AM
Ripley Auctions, 5564 N Rural, Indianapolis 46220
In-person LIVE Auction + Online

A Victorian Time-Capsule Cabinet of Curiosities 
Bid on a variety of Victorian artifacts from Indiana Landmarks’ Morris-Butler House collection during an auction benefiting preservation of the 1865 Second Empire-style home and former house museum in Indianapolis’s Old Northside Historic District.

Items to be auctioned range in date from the mid-nineteenth century through the early-twentieth century, including textiles (quilts, table linens, towels); children’s items (clothing, games, porcelain dolls, wooden blocks); lighting (floor, table, and hanging fixtures); furniture (chairs, tables, bedroom suites, sofas); household décor (vases, urns, clocks, fireplace accessories); kitchen and dining items (china, silver, flatware, cookware, serving ware, pressed glass); grooming items (wash sets, shaving sets, hairbrushes), paper-based items (books, magazines, stereoscope cards, photographs, advertising cards); and clothing and accessories (men’s and women’s, including wedding dresses).

PREVIEW DATE
Friday, November 17th Noon - 5 pm

Please call / email Ripley Auctions for all sale related questions.
317-251-5635 or [email protected]
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Restored by Indiana Landmarks in the 1960s, the Morris-Butler House served as a house museum from 1969 to 2014, showcasing decorative arts from the Victorian period. The home takes its name from two families who lived there in the nineteenth century. In 1864, John Morris commissioned the house’s construction, occupying the home with his family until 1878. Noble Butler, a bankruptcy lawyer, moved into the house three years later with his wife and seven children. The family remained until 1957, when Florence Butler, the youngest daughter, died and her survivors sold the estate.
In 1964, Indiana Landmarks — then known as Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana — rescued the dilapidated house. The home’s initial five-year restoration, spearheaded by Indiana Landmarks founders Eli Lilly and architect H. Roll McLaughlin, and the Old Northside neighborhood’s listing in the National Register of Historic Places acted as catalysts for revitalization of the area. Today, the Old Northside is once again an enviable residential neighborhood, where restored historic houses blend with new homes.

In 2018, Indiana Landmarks’ board, with the blessing of H. Roll McLaughlin and other early supporters, voted to deaccession the Morris-Butler House collection following American Association of Museum guidelines. Indiana Landmarks will retain all items related to the Morris and Butler families and continue to maintain the house’s Victorian character.

Proceeds from the auction benefit ongoing preservation of the property, which serves an integral role on the Indiana Landmarks Center campus as a rental venue and office space for Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places Indiana program.

This auction is now CLOSED! Check out the sales results below. Thank you to everyone who participated!