Books

September 8, 2019|Lauren Kristin|Books

Fall 2019: Early Printed, Travel, Scientific & Medical Books

A choice selection of incunabula brings to auction infrequently seen editions of Johannes Jacobus Canis’s 1476 guide to the study of civil and canon law; Albertus Magnus’s comprehensive lapidary De mineralibus, Pavia, 1491; and Philippus Beroaldus’s philosophical tract on happiness, De felicitate opusculum, Bologna, 1495.

September 3, 2019 | Art Press & Illustrated Books

Selections from the Sackner Archive of Concrete & Visual Poetry

Before being moved to its permanent home at the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections, a choice selection of works from the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry—the most comprehensive collection of its kind—will be offered at Swann Galleries on October 10.

August 27, 2019 | 19th & 20th Century Literature

19th & 20th Century Literature: Hemingway, Morrison & Tolkien—Fall 2019

Remarkable firsts in unrestored dust jackets by Barnaby Ross, Owen Wister, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, plus well-loved titles by Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Kurt Vonnegut Vonnegut comprise this fall 2019 selection of literature.

August 27, 2019 | Autographs

Autographs: Davy Crockett, Greta Garbo, Annie Oakley & Herman Melville—Fall 2019

Signed material by artists, authors, politicians, musicians and more, including Davy Crockett, Walt Disney, Annie Oakley, Babe Ruth, Greta Garbo, Franz Liszt, George Washington.

August 27, 2019 | Art Press & Illustrated Books

Art, Press & Illustrated Books: Blake, Cocteau & Rackham—Fall 2019

Fall 2019 promises a strong collection of exquisite artist’s books, and illustrated volumes, some unique and some from fine presses, including works by Arthur Rackham, William Blake and Jean Cocteau.

August 26, 2019 | Books

Fine Books & Manuscripts: Fall 2019

Browse upcoming highlights from the three sections of the robust October 10 auction: Autographs, Literature, Art, Press & Illustrated Books.

August 8, 2019 | Auctions 101

What—exactly—is the Swann Shelf Sale?

A Bookseller’s Bonanza The Swann Shelf Sale is something like a well-known secret within the New York City book trade. “It is definitely one of the most actively attended sales…

August 1, 2019 | Autographs

Herman Melville: A Bicentennial Celebration

We celebrate the author, now recognized as one of the cornerstones of American literature, on what would have been his 200th birthday.

May 21, 2019 | 19th & 20th Century Literature

Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature

Rare Bond Titles Lead Literature at Swann John Larson: “The enduring appeal of inscribed first editions, particularly those with significant associations, was on full display and resulted in a number of high prices, including…

April 26, 2019 | 19th & 20th Century Literature

Ian Fleming First Editions: Books, Rare Books

On May 14 we are bringing a selection of 13 Ian Fleming first editions to auction. Fleming, a former intelligence officer and journalist, debuted the stylish James Bond in 1953…

March 29, 2019 | 19th & 20th Century Literature

Upcoming Highlights: 19th & 20th Century Literature

At Auction May 14 Complete Catalogue This sale features significant material by the man behind everyone’s favorite MI6 agent, James Bond, including a first edition of Casino Royale, Ian Fleming’s…

March 11, 2019 | Books

Records & Results: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books

Illuminated Manuscripts Lead Early Printed Books at Swann Coinciding with Rare Book Week in New York City, our spring offering of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books…

February 26, 2019 | Books

Swann Galleries’ Guide to Rare Book Week 2019 in NYC

Rare Book Week kicks off March 5 in NYC. We gathered a selection of our favorite events happening throughout the week, as well as several not-to-be-missed exhibitions. See you there!…

February 8, 2019 | Art Press & Illustrated Books

Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics

Georges Rouault’s Livres d’Artiste Lead Swann Galleries’ Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics We opened out 2019 season with Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics which boasted numerous auction records and several new buyers. …

January 17, 2019 | Art Press & Illustrated Books

Cheloniidae: Sea Turtles

The Richard Lee Callaway Collection of Alan James Robinson & the Cheloniidae Press The collection of the late Richard Lee Callaway forms the cornerstone of the fine printing and…

December 26, 2018 | Books

Upcoming Highlights: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics

At Auction January 29 Complete Catalogue Taking place during Bibliography Week in New York City, this auction focuses on fine twentieth-century livres d’artiste. Among a large number of Art…

November 20, 2018 | Books

Upcoming Highlights: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books

At Auction March 7 Complete Catalogue Early manuscripts, incunabula, and post-incunabula lead the sale. These include a richly illuminated manuscript prayer book in Latin and French from the second…

November 15, 2018 | 19th & 20th Century Literature

Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature

Signed & Inscribed Oscar Wilde Play Leads Literature Auction SciFi Works Continue to Prove to be Popular in Swann Literature Sales Book collectors from far and wide partook in…

November 5, 2018 | 19th & 20th Century Literature

“The Transcendental Club”

“The Transcendental Club,” as it would come to be known, was founded in Massachusetts, in September of 1836, by prominent New England intellectuals. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the primary practitioner of the…

October 19, 2018 | Books

Records & Results: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books

Jean de Mandeville Reaches $100K in Early Printed Books Auction Philippine Imprint sets record Our auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books garnered eager interest from bibliophiles, exceeding the…

October 3, 2018 | Books

A Look Inside the Catalogue: 19th & 20th Century Literature

At Auction November 13 Complete Catalogue Highlights A first edition of Jack London’s The Sea-Wolf, 1904, debuts at auction in its exceedingly rare dust jacket (known by rumor,…

August 24, 2018 | Books

Specialists in the Field: The Type Speaks

The Vignelli Center for Design Studies & The Cary Graphic Arts Collection at RIT Swann Specialist Christine von der Linn reports to us from Rochester, New York, where she toured renowned…

August 11, 2018 | Books

A Look Inside the Catalogue: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books

Including Philippine Imprints At Auction October 16 Complete Catalogue The material in this characteristically diverse sale ranges from incunabula to early twentieth-century works on rocketry and space flight. …

May 17, 2018 | Books

Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature

Science fiction ruled on May 15 at our auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature. Selections from the Estate of Stanley Simon, featuring 84 rare and first editions of cornerstones…

May 10, 2018 | Books

The Sci-Fi Collection of Stanley Simon

Stanley Simon of New York City was a passionate life-long collector of sci-fi, thriller and fantasy first editions. His paramount collection of almost 100 first editions, nearly all of them signed,…

April 30, 2018 | Books

Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics

Our auction of Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics on April 26 featured highlights by artists of the twentieth century and scarce volumes from fine presses. Leading the sale…

April 24, 2018 | Books

Have You Met Breuer? An Architectural Archive

An archive of illuminating material from the office of the great modernist architect and designer Marcel Breuer leads the architecture section of our April 26 auction of Fine Illustrated Books &…

April 10, 2018 | Books

A Look Inside the Catalogue: 19th & 20th Century Literature

At Auction May 15 Cornerstones of science fiction from the Estate of Stanley Simon form the backbone of our May 15 auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature; of special…

March 29, 2018 | Books

A Look Inside the Catalogue: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics

At Auction April 26 Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics is a multifaceted auction that spans media and disciplines. Early twentieth-century graphic design and the fine arts include a never-before-offered trade catalogue…

March 28, 2018 | Books

#5WomenArtists: Christine von der Linn’s List

As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…

March 12, 2018 | Books

Records & Results: Early Printed Books

Our March 8 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books coincided with the opening of Rare Book Week in New York City. With 94% of offered lots sold, the…

February 27, 2018 | Books

The Earliest French Erotica

A titillating section in our March 8 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books contains two scarce early examples of French erotica. L’Escole des Filles, ou La Philosophie…

January 14, 2018 | Books

A Look Inside the Catalogue: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books

This sale on March 8 will feature an extensive selection of early Spanish books on a variety of subjects including agriculture, heraldry and genealogy, history, horses, law, literature, medicine, theology…

November 16, 2017 | Books

Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature

Our auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature on November 14 offered a veritable library of scarce first editions and inscriptions by authors from the last two centuries. More than…

October 20, 2017 | Books

Records & Results: Early Printed Books

Our October 17 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books garnered eager interest from bibliophiles, exceeding the sale’s high estimate and earning more than half a million dollars.…

October 16, 2017 | Books

The First Accounts of Captain Cook’s Fateful Voyage

A transportive highlight in our October 17 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books is the rare complete set of first editions detailing Captain James Cook’s voyages around the…

June 14, 2017 | Books

Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books

Our June 13 auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books offered a spectrum of books that doubled as objets d’art, with records for important twentieth-century works celebrating art and typography.…

May 18, 2017 | Books

Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature

First editions and inscribed copies filled the shelves at our May 16 auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature. The sale broke several auction records and encompassed a variety of genres,…

May 11, 2017 | Books

George & Robert Cruikshank, Early Caricaturists

Brothers George and Isaac (who often went by his middle name of Robert) Cruikshank were famed early nineteenth-century caricaturists. Their work appears in two of our sales this season, 19th…

April 26, 2017 | Books

What is a Cosway-Style Binding?

It’s hard not to judge a book by its cover when it is encased in a fine Cosway-style binding. Two of these sumptuous decorative tomes will be coming to auction…

March 15, 2017 | Books

Records & Results: Early Printed Books

On Thursday, March 9, Swann Galleries offered a morning auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books. A leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, 1455, topped the sale.…

March 8, 2017 | Books

Machiavelli’s “The Prince” & Its Influence

Three books in our upcoming sale of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books tell a dizzying story of power, betrayal and misunderstanding, the reverberations of which can still be…

December 14, 2016 | Books

Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books

Works by and about twentieth century artists performed especially well at our sale of Art, Press & Illustrated Books on Thursday, December 1. Of the top 20 lots in the…

March 17, 2009 | Books

Spotlight on Judaica

Occurring just a week before the Jewish holiday of Passover, Swann Galleries’ April 2 auction of Fine Books offers significant Judaica works, including desirable early and modern haggadot. Among the…

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