December 23, 2020Kelsie Jankowski19th & 20th Century Literature 2020: Year in Review Read more about 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 Early Printed Books: Fall 2020 Auction Highlights October 7, 2020 Books & Manuscripts 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 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 Books & Manuscripts 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 Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Leads July 30, 2020 Fine Books & Manuscripts Sale at $125k August 10, 2020 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Leads July 30, 2020 Fine Books & Manuscripts Sale at $125k Our sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts on Thursday, July 30, 2020 boasted high prices across categories with early printed books leading the sale, two records being recorded for literature, and autograph material from world leaders garnering attention.
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 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 Books & Manuscripts 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 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 Books & Manuscripts 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 The History of Books & Manuscripts at Swann Galleries October 7, 2019 Auctions 101 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 Fall 2019: Early Printed, Travel, Scientific & Medical Books September 8, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 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 Records & Results: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books March 11, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 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…
Read more about Swann Galleries’ Guide to Rare Book Week 2019 in NYC February 26, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 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!…
Read more about Records & Results: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books October 19, 2018 Books & Manuscripts 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…
Read more about Science, Rocketry & Space Flight September 28, 2018 Early Printed Books Science, Rocketry & Space Flight The study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world has always been a curiosity, and the publishing of theories, studies and findings has, in the last…
Read more about An Eighteenth Century Pye Recipe October 13, 2016 Early Printed Books An Eighteenth Century Pye Recipe When recipe books come to Swann, the only thing to do is test them out. In our upcoming October 18 sale of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books is…
April 26, 2010 Early Printed Books The Inventory of the late Lawrence Feinberg Deborah Chaleff and Jacqueline Feinberg introduce the Early Printed Books & Manuscripts from the Inventory of the late Lawrence Feinberg sale on May 11, 2010 at Swann:“Lawrence Feinberg was originally…