June 4, 2021Marco TomaschettAutographs Important Autographs to Watch in the June 2021 Sale Read more about Important Autographs to Watch in the June 2021 Sale The autographs portion of the June 17, 2021 auction includes uncommonly inspiring items in nearly every major category of collecting. Below Marco Tomaschett shares a selection of highlights. Americana Among…
Read more about Fine Books & Autographs: June 17, 2021 Auction Highlights May 25, 2021 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Autographs: June 17, 2021 Auction Highlights Autographs Literature & Art Books What You Need to Know on Auction Day This auction will be held live and conducted remotely. There will not be bidding in the room,…
Read more about Consign Now for July 2021: Focus on Women April 30, 2021 Focus On Women Consign Now for July 2021: Focus on Women As collectors and institutions turn their focus to the important contributions of women, Swann is pleased to feature their work at auction. We are seeking consignments that highlight the stories of all those in the community who identify as women in the fields of activism, art and design, community, education, entertainment, health and wellness, science and innovation, sport, and work. The auction will feature first editions, handwritten manuscript material, archives, and works on paper by historically significant poets, novelists, scientists, journalists, photographers, playwrights, performers and beyond.
Read more about Selections from Letterform Archive April 21, 2021 Vintage Posters Selections from Letterform Archive At Auction May 12, 2021 This special offering of deaccessioned duplicates from the rich collection of Letterform Archive will bring to auction graphics, books, posters and examples of typography that…
Read more about Selections From a Noteworthy Collection of American Historical Prints April 6, 2021 Printed & Manuscript Americana Selections From a Noteworthy Collection of American Historical Prints Our April 15, 2021 auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana opens with a noteworthy collection of historical prints which spins a narrative of America stretching from the arrival of Columbus to the…
Read more about Lies in Publishing: Collecting False Imprints April 5, 2021 Early Printed Books Lies in Publishing: Collecting False Imprints Bibliographers, cataloguers, and scholars rely upon the veracity of a book’s imprint—that is, the publication information provided by the printer on the title page, and includes the following: city of…
Read more about Early Printed Books: April 2021 Highlights March 16, 2021 Books & Manuscripts Early Printed Books: April 2021 Highlights Featuring illuminated manuscripts, including an ornate Book of Hours, Use in Utrecht, and a robust section of important early scientific texts by Nicolaus Copernicus, Euclid, and Johann Zahn. Medical volumes include a first edition of Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, among others.
Read more about Printed & Manuscript African Americana: March 2021 Auction Highlights March 1, 2021 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Printed & Manuscript African Americana: March 2021 Auction Highlights Featuring material relating to Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Phillis Wheatley, Katherine Dunham, Kool Lance, and more.
Read more about Ship’s Papers, Passports, and Privateers: Marco Tomaschett on Collectible Documents and U.S. Maritime History February 22, 2021 Autographs Ship’s Papers, Passports, and Privateers: Marco Tomaschett on Collectible Documents and U.S. Maritime History Water vessels played a critical role in shaping the early history of America. That U.S. maritime history is brief relative to some other nations is an advantage, because many artifacts…
Read more about Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road,’ Off the Rails February 22, 2021 19th & 20th Century Literature Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road,’ Off the Rails John Larson on the cinematic history of Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’ An immediate success upon its publication in 1957, Jack Kerouac’s second book, On the Road, has maintained a…
Read more about Fine Books & Autographs: February 2021 Auction Highlights February 3, 2021 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Autographs: February 2021 Auction Highlights Featuring fine autographs by Frederick Douglass, Albert Einstein, James Dean, John F. Kennedy, Lord Byron, Richard Wagner, alongside literature and art books by Joseph Albers, Leonetto Cappiello, Ian Fleming, Ernest Hemingway, Ralph Ellison, and more.
Read more about The Artists of the WPA: The Promise of a New Deal January 20, 2021 The Artists of the WPA The Artists of the WPA: The Promise of a New Deal On February 4, 2021, Swann offered: The Artists of the WPA. The first iteration of the multi-departmental sale, featured paintings, prints, photographs, posters, books and related ephemera by artists whose…
Read more about 2020: Year in Review December 23, 2020 Swann 2020: Year in Review In a year that was unlike any in our lifetimes, Swann’s specialists and staff proved to be as resilient and innovative as ever, bringing forward new and safe ways to…
Read more about John Woodhouse Audubon: The California Gray Squirrel December 14, 2020 Maps & Atlases John Woodhouse Audubon: The California Gray Squirrel The Audubon name is synonymous with art of the natural world. Most renowned for his iconic Birds of America, master naturalist John James Audubon expectantly encouraged and cultivated his two…
Read more about Autographs by Washington, Hamilton & Hancock Bring Top Prices in November 2020 Sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts November 23, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Autographs by Washington, Hamilton & Hancock Bring Top Prices in November 2020 Sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts Jane Austen Leads Fine Books & Manuscripts at Swann Our Tuesday, November 17, 2020, sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts saw great success across categories with a 90% sell-through rate…
Read more about The Voice & Hand of Frederick Douglass November 12, 2020 Autographs The Voice & Hand of Frederick Douglass One’s handwriting is unique unto oneself. For some, the style can remain consistent throughout the years. For others, the features that characterize their handwriting can change depending on circumstance, and…
Read more about Monster Mash: Five Famous Monster Books to Collect October 30, 2020 19th & 20th Century Literature Monster Mash: Five Famous Monster Books to Collect October brings out the inner ghoul in all of us. Our Literature Specialist, John Larson, compiled a fantasy starter collection for those interested in fantasmagoria. The Vampyre; A Tale by…
Read more about Fine Books & Manuscripts: November 2020 Highlights October 26, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Manuscripts: November 2020 Highlights Featuring Major Works by Jane Austen & Charles Dickens, Autographs & Manuscript Items from John Hancock, Igor Stravinsky & more
Read more about Early Printed Books: Fall 2020 Auction Highlights October 7, 2020 Early Printed Books Early Printed Books: Fall 2020 Auction Highlights Early Printed Books, at auction October 27, 2020, featuring sought-after early imprints, incunabula, North American early exploration texts, medical books and more.
Read more about Register for the Legendary Catskill Mountain House Brings $45k in our Fall 2020 Sale of Americana October 7, 2020 Printed & Manuscript Americana Register for the Legendary Catskill Mountain House Brings $45k in our Fall 2020 Sale of Americana Our Thursday, September 24, 2020 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana brought an 82% sell-through rate by lot, totaling over $600k with at least 23 institutions purchasing a total of…
Read more about Happening October 5: Reading and Q&A With ‘Dark Archives’ Author Megan Rosenbloom September 24, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Happening October 5: Reading and Q&A With ‘Dark Archives’ Author Megan Rosenbloom Join Us October 5, 2020 at 7PM ET for a fascinating, terrifying look at the rarest books―bound in human skin―and the stories of their creation.
Read more about Early Printed Books: Old Tombstones September 4, 2020 Early Printed Books Early Printed Books: Old Tombstones What Goes Around Comes Around Devon Eastland shares the joys of handling early printed books and how sometimes unexpected pieces of history can crop up. As a business with a…
Read more about Autographs & History Part II: George Bernard Shaw & Enrico Caruso July 24, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Autographs & History Part II: George Bernard Shaw & Enrico Caruso In a two-part series Marco Tomaschett, our autographs specialist, takes us through a few autographs by prominent people in history in our July 30 sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts.
Read more about Autographs & History Part I: U.S. Presidents July 24, 2020 Autographs Autographs & History Part I: U.S. Presidents In a two-part series Marco Tomaschett, our autographs specialist, takes us through a few autographs by prominent people in history in our July 30 sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts.
Read more about As Seen in Books: A Glossary for Items Found in the Pages of Early Printed Books July 21, 2020 Books & Manuscripts As Seen in Books: A Glossary for Items Found in the Pages of Early Printed Books Any experienced cataloger, scholar, collector, or reader of early printing is accustomed to discovering an array of random objects within the pages of books. Even though some of these tidbits may have fallen out of ancient beards, today we celebrate and study them and put them into categories. Devon Eastland, senior specialist for early printed books, provides a handy glossary for these curious items found within various books.
Read more about Fine Books & Manuscripts: Auction Highlights for July 30, 2020 July 9, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Manuscripts: Auction Highlights for July 30, 2020 Find here a plethora of autographs, fine art books, modern first editions, incunabula, manuscripts and more, at auction July 30, 2020.
Read more about Collector’s Guide: Declaration of Independence June 30, 2020 Printed & Manuscript Americana Collector’s Guide: Declaration of Independence Probably the most common question we get in the Americana department is “I found an original copy of the Declaration of Independence—is it worth anything?” The short answer: it’s worth somewhere…
Read more about Introduction to Bookbinding: Folding & Sewing May 5, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Introduction to Bookbinding: Folding & Sewing As a bibliophile expands their collection, they gain a feel for auction house and bookseller’s catalogues, which often include terminology that may seem arcane. However, every character in a complex catalogue entry is used to describe the object being sold. For early printed books, some of the most essential things a specialist must note are the size of the book, its collation, and its condition. In order to understand how a book is described, some knowledge of bookbinding fundamentals is helpful. Here, Devon Eastland, our senior specialist for early printed books, dives into how a book is sewn.
Read more about Why do old books use F’s instead of S’s? April 9, 2020 Early Printed Books Why do old books use F’s instead of S’s? Or, WTſ? It’s a common source of confusion: “I have this book, and it’s really old, and all of the s’s are f’s, so I know it’s really old. It’s called Paradife Loft, by John Milton.”
Read more about Old Diaries Tell the Stories of Overlooked Americans March 23, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Old Diaries Tell the Stories of Overlooked Americans The value of diaries on the market is largely driven by historical content and the quality of the writing. What could your diary be worth?
Read more about Before O. Henry: William Sydney Porter’s First Professional Commission March 2, 2020 Printed & Manuscript Americana Before O. Henry: William Sydney Porter’s First Professional Commission William Sydney Porter, best known to posterity as the author O. Henry, was raised in North Carolina and moved west to Texas as a young man in 1882. After a stint on a sheep ranch, he settled in Austin, TX, where he worked various odd jobs while exploring his interest in writing and drawing. Our winter-spring 2020 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana on March 10 is set to offer O. Henry’s first professional commission. Here, Rick Stattler, the house’s Americana specialist, tells the story of the mining memoir that never came to be.
Read more about Jane Austen Rules Winter 2020 Fine Books & Manuscripts February 24, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Jane Austen Rules Winter 2020 Fine Books & Manuscripts Swann Galleries saw a successful sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts on Thursday, February 20 with literature and autographs bringing strong numbers.
Read more about A Novel, By a Lady: Jane Austen First Editions February 19, 2020 Books & Manuscripts A Novel, By a Lady: Jane Austen First Editions For the first time in nearly a decade, first editions all six of Jane Austen’s major novels will be offered in our winter 2020 sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts on February 20. The novels are set to come across the block in exceedingly rare period bindings, just as Austen herself would have seen them published, with half-title pages. Here we touch on the offering and what makes a first edition Austen novel special.
Read more about Sarojini Naidu’s Galley Proof of ‘The Broken Wing’ February 17, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Sarojini Naidu’s Galley Proof of ‘The Broken Wing’ Sarojini Naidu was an Indian writer and politician, born in Hyderabad, India in 1879. She wrote widely admired, moving, musical poetry in English, having both British and Indian subject matter,…
Read more about Swann in Profile: Devon Eastland January 15, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Swann in Profile: Devon Eastland With the 2020 auction season on the horizon, we sat down with the newest addition to our books and manuscripts department, Devon Eastland, senior specialist for early printed books, to discuss all things books and material culture.
Read more about Fine Books & Manuscripts: Winter 2020 January 3, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Manuscripts: Winter 2020 First editions of all of Jane Austen’s major novels, over 20 inscribed first editions by Graham Greene, autographmaterial from Walt Whitman, Napoleon and Princess Diana.
Read more about Hawaiian-Language Schoolbook Makes its Market Debut at $68k in Fall 2019 Maps & Atlases Sale December 19, 2019 Maps & Atlases Hawaiian-Language Schoolbook Makes its Market Debut at $68k in Fall 2019 Maps & Atlases Sale Swann Galleries closed out the decade with a marathon sale of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books on Tuesday, December 17. The auction brought $910,087 and saw a 93% sell-through rate. Highlights included rare cartographic publications from Hawaii, atlases from across the globe and historic prints.
Read more about Science Leads Fall 2019 Early Printed Books October 29, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Science Leads Fall 2019 Early Printed Books Our Thursday, October 24 sale of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books saw a full auction room and active bidding on the internet and phones with a particular interest in publications by scientists, as well as incunabula, bibles and manuscript publications.
Read more about Early Printed Books by John Bulwer — A Pioneer in the Education of the Deaf in England October 21, 2019 Early Printed Books Early Printed Books by John Bulwer — A Pioneer in the Education of the Deaf in England Born in London in 1606, John Bulwer was an important figure in the study of deafness, gesture and the human body and a pioneer the education of the deaf in England. He published five works on the subject before his death in 1656. Set to come across the block are three first editions of Bulwer’s publications.
Read more about Fall 2019 Fine Books & Manuscripts Brings Record Prices October 14, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Fall 2019 Fine Books & Manuscripts Brings Record Prices We brought forth a remarkable offering of autographs, art, press and illustrated books, as well as nineteenth and twentieth-century literature, in a Thursday, October 10 sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts.
Read more about The History of Books & Manuscripts at Swann Galleries October 7, 2019 Autographs The History of Books & Manuscripts at Swann Galleries Bibliophiles of every denomination—Americana, autographs, art books, archives, atlases, ephemera, literature, maps—can find their niche at Swann Galleries. Originally founded in New York as a book auction house, we hold regular specialized sales devoted to books, printed material and manuscripts.
Read more about Two Books Once Owned by Herman Melville Come to Swann September 27, 2019 Autographs Two Books Once Owned by Herman Melville Come to Swann Two volumes from Herman Melville’s personal library come to auction at Swann Galleries October 10.
Read more about Fall 2019: Early Printed, Travel, Scientific & Medical Books September 8, 2019 Early Printed 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.
Read more about Selections from the Sackner Archive of Concrete & Visual Poetry September 3, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 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.
Read more about 19th & 20th Century Literature: Hemingway, Morrison & Tolkien—Fall 2019 August 27, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 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.
Read more about Autographs: Davy Crockett, Greta Garbo, Annie Oakley & Herman Melville—Fall 2019 August 27, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 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.
Read more about Art, Press & Illustrated Books: Blake, Cocteau & Rackham—Fall 2019 August 27, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 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.
Read more about Fine Books & Manuscripts: Fall 2019 August 26, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Manuscripts: Fall 2019 Browse upcoming highlights from the three sections of the robust October 10 auction: Autographs, Literature, Art, Press & Illustrated Books.
Read more about What—exactly—is the Swann Shelf Sale? August 8, 2019 Auctions 101 What—exactly—is the Swann Shelf Sale? This Year’s Shelf Sale Will Begin on Thursday, July 18 at 12 PM ET A Bookseller’s Bonanza The Swann Shelf Sale is something like a well-known secret within the New…
Read more about Herman Melville: A Bicentennial Celebration 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.