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 Autographs by Washington, Hamilton & Hancock Bring Top Prices in November 2020 Sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts November 23, 2020 19th & 20th Century Literature 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 Printed & Manuscript African Americana: Rescheduled for May 2020 April 16, 2020 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Printed & Manuscript African Americana: Rescheduled for May 2020 Among the highlights will be an 1836 autograph book with inscriptions by noted early African-American orators Moses Roper and Peter Williams. The large section on slavery and abolition will include several runaway broadsides and a miniature printing of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (the only one produced in pamphlet form) intended for soldiers to distribute among the freedmen in the south. Military papers include material written by African-American soldiers, including a Civil War letter and a Spanish-American War diary.
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 Cataloguing History: Why we hold specialized auctions. June 10, 2019 Auctions 101 Cataloguing History: Why we hold specialized auctions. Auctions offer a moment where the sometimes-incalculable significance of an object is quantified. The price is reached through collaboration: specialists, consignors, the market, and finally, bidders convene in the room,…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript Americana March 1, 2019 Printed & Manuscript Americana Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript Americana At Auction April 16 Complete Catalogue This sale includes a dramatic Texan diary by William Farrar Smith, commanding an expedition to find the best trail from San Antonio to…
Read more about Across the Continent: a Currier & Ives print with ties to Thomas W. Streeter December 5, 2018 Maps & Atlases Across the Continent: a Currier & Ives print with ties to Thomas W. Streeter Among the many unique and impressive rarities in our December 13 Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books sale is Across the Continent, 1868, by Currier & Ives. Significant for…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript Americana July 23, 2018 Printed & Manuscript Americana A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript Americana Featuring The Holzer Collection of Lincolniana At Auction September 27 Complete Catalogue Latin Americana Latin Americana will feature Juan de la Anunciación’s 1577 Sermonario en lengua mexicana and other…
Read more about Records & Results: Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler IIII June 25, 2018 Autographs Records & Results: Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler IIII On June 21, our auction of Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III saw a 91% sell-through rate for important autographs, letters and documents from some of…
Read more about William Wheeler III: The Quest for American History June 11, 2018 Autographs William Wheeler III: The Quest for American History William Wheeler III’s collection of Revolutionary and Presidential Americana, coming to auction June 21, began on his 21st birthday with the gift of his three-times-great-uncle’s appointment as an Ensign to…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: The Collection of William Wheeler III April 20, 2018 Autographs A Look Inside the Catalogue: The Collection of William Wheeler III Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III At Auction June 21 Complete Catalogue William A. Wheeler III’s interest in history began in childhood, browsing at…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript Americana January 30, 2018 Printed & Manuscript Americana A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript Americana Our April 12 auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana illustrates the multifaceted tapestry of American history, featuring a cypress twig cut by General Lafayette at George Washington’s tomb, attractively framed in…
Read more about 2017: Year in Review December 28, 2017 Swann 2017: Year in Review In our diamond anniversary year, we offered a star-studded roster of 30 auctions, setting nearly 100 records and introducing countless items to the market, including a previously unknown photograph of Harriet…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana October 7, 2017 Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana Hoards of history-lovers came out to attend the preview for our auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana on September 28. The sale featured a trove of unique material, much of which…
Read more about Mexican Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata September 8, 2017 Prints & Drawings Mexican Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata Some people made such an impact on history that we see them in multiple sales each season, across widely disparate genres. One such figure was Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana April 27, 2017 Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana On Thursday, April 27, our tenth consecutive auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana exceeded $700,000. Much of the top material was unique or extremely rare, including diaries, letters and archives, many…
Read more about John Augustine Washington III & Mount Vernon March 27, 2017 Printed & Manuscript African Americana John Augustine Washington III & Mount Vernon From the catalogue for our March 30 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana. The sale will feature a run of 16 lots of letters and ephemera from Mount Vernon…
Read more about Civil War Correspondence Between Sweethearts: “Scattered, Knew Not Where To Go” November 15, 2016 Printed & Manuscript Americana Civil War Correspondence Between Sweethearts: “Scattered, Knew Not Where To Go” Coming to auction November 17, 2016: Printed & Manuscript Americana Charles L. Taylor married his sweetheart Harriet Tuttle in August, 1862 and days later went to join the 16th Connecticut…
Read more about Thomas Paine’s American Crisis Makes the Albany News November 24, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana Thomas Paine’s American Crisis Makes the Albany News “These are the times which try men’s souls…” so begins Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis, arguably his second most famous work. Our 2014 annual fall Americana auction, Swann will offer…
Read more about The 14th State: Thomas Jefferson Signs Vermont Statehood Act November 20, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana The 14th State: Thomas Jefferson Signs Vermont Statehood Act Among the highlights of today’s auction of Autographs was one of 28 copies of the act making Vermont the 14th state in the Union signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of…
Read more about American Books Printed Before the Bay Psalm Book? October 17, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana American Books Printed Before the Bay Psalm Book? The Bay Psalm Book is often described as the first book printed in America. Issued in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640, it was certainly the first book printed in the English…
Read more about Marco Tomaschett: Snippets of History May 12, 2014 Autographs Marco Tomaschett: Snippets of History Marco Tomaschett, Swann Galleries’ Autographs specialist, wrote this piece about clipped autographs, which appeared in Antiques & Auction News last week. Here is his piece in its entirety: Since there are few…
Read more about A Look Inside the Birdman of Alcatraz April 8, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana A Look Inside the Birdman of Alcatraz Our April 2014 sale Printed & Manuscript Americana offers a rare and fascinating lot related to Robert Stroud, known as the Birdman of Alcatraz. This research archive contains many hundreds…
Read more about Collection of Rare and Important Bibles to be Offered at Swann in 2009 August 13, 2009 Printed & Manuscript Americana Collection of Rare and Important Bibles to be Offered at Swann in 2009 Two of Swann Galleries’ autumn 2009 auctions feature desirable Bibles from the collection of Mel and Julie Meadows—it is the largest offering of Bibles to come up for auction in recent years.
Read more about Howard Hughes Material to be Offered in September 17, 2009 Sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana July 20, 2009 Printed & Manuscript Americana Howard Hughes Material to be Offered in September 17, 2009 Sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana Swann will kick off our fall season with an auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana September 17, 2009 which features an archive of material related to the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.