Ivory Jack's Trading CO Inc

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Everything has a story. Whether it’s woolly mammoth ivory sculptures and hand carved jewelry or sun masks, totem poles, or some Alaskan or NW Coastal art, the story behind the search, history and work to create the art form is precisely what Kurt Tripp, founder of Ivory Jack's Trading Company, finds most appealing about his business.It also helps to have grown up in Alaska. That’s where Tripp got his start in the business of buying and selling Alaskan artwork thanks to a family history that spans three generations in the last great frontier of Alaska.During the Great Depression, Tripp's grandfather sold everything he owned to buy a car with a rumble seat that could help him make the unbelievable drive from New York to Alaska. The journey took a long time over incredibly rough roads, but he finally arrived in Fairbanks where he became a riverboat captain. Besides hauling barges of freight for the U.S. government, his travels took him up several smaller rivers where he ran goods back and forth to the Eskimo villages. In exchange for the goods he delivered, the Eskimos gave him salmon and a variety of handcrafted artwork. By the time he stopped running the barge 35 years later, he had a tremendous collection of Eskimo artifacts, artwork, and other cultural items, including a large number of ivory carvings.

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