Our Staff


J. Louis Karp

J. Louis Karp is the President of Main Auction Galleries Inc. He was the youngest auctioneer in the state of Ohio at the age of 15. He is the most well known charity auctioneer in the Cincinnati area. He has volunteered his services over the years without charging a fee. Some of which include Cancer Society, Leukemia, Avoc, Caracole, March of Dimes, Stepping Stones, Speech & Hearing Center, Xavier, Shrines Burns Hospital, University of Cincinnati, WCET, "Pig Gig", Art Museum Contemporary Arts Center, Taft Museum, local schools, institutions as well as the Bat Auction and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
He attended Woodward & Walnut Hills High Schools, and University of Cincinnati. He has had featured articles in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Antique Weekly, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincinnati Enquirer to mention just a few. He has lectured for the Mensa Society, Woman Clubs, Public Library, Banks, other institutions and organizations.
His expertise is 18th, 19th& 20thcentury furniture, Decorative Arts, Rookwood, art, books, oriental rugs, jewelry, cars and decorative arts. For the past 47 years he has studied and continues to learn the every changing value of merchandise. His love of the auction business is his life.

Jonas Meyer Karp

Jonas Meyer Karp: (fifth generation) is vice president and co-owner of Main Auction Galleries Inc. He attended Purcell-Marion High School and attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He holds a BS degree. He won several honors while attending college. He has been with our firm for over 16 years and has become one of the leading experts on Mid-Century & Designers Objects, Textiles, Pottery and the unusual. He also volunteers his skills in the field of auctioning for several charitable organizations. He is respected among his peers for his honesty, integrity, and kindness to everyone. Jonas has put more miles on his van in the past 5 years than you can imagine. I'm glad that the price of gas has gone down. Main Auction Galleries Inc. will continue to thrive for several years because of a son like mine.

Beth Karp

Beth Karp has been associated with our firm for over 35 years. She is our expert in the field of antique dolls, doll houses, Christmas, toys and holiday collectibles. Her dolls have been featured in several Antique Magazines, and recently been featured in the new book "Identifying German Character Dolls" by Mary Gorham Krombholtz. She has lectured for several doll clubs and other organizations. You can trust her to give you an honest appraisal and accurate descriptions for advertising your collection to realize the best possible prices. Her dolls as well as her Christmas collections have been loaned to several museums. Beth is also involved in landscape design. Her gardens have been toured by hundreds of people for the benefit of various charitable organizations to provide education and conservation. Her gardens recently have been catalogued in the archives of the Smithsonian Institute for the gardens of United States of America.

Ralph Brewster

Ralph Brewster has been with our firm for over 37 years. His loyalty, honesty, and dedication are unmatched in the auction business. He works with attorneys, trust officers, bankers, executors and individuals. He brings the merchandise to our headquarters with meticulous care and can deliver to our customers upon request. Ralph does the billing for our weekly auctions and is devoted to our business, our customers, and associates.

Cathy Kearns

Cathy Kearns has been with our firm for over 18 years. She is a graduate of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She is an active community volunteer and has served as treasurer for several non-profit agencies. Cathy is our office manager and handles all of our consignments, Payroll, AR, AP, and clerks all of our auctions. She is the most dependable, reliable, loyal person I know.



Main Auction Galleries Inc. also has several part time employees.

Call us at 513-621-1280 or email jkarp@fuse.net. We will be glad to assist you.