February 24, 2020Kelsie Jankowski19th & 20th Century Literature Jane Austen Rules Winter 2020 Fine Books & Manuscripts Read more about 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. Share Facebook Twitter
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. Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Art, Press & Illustrated Books: Blake, Cocteau & Rackham—Fall 2019 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. Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Records & Results: Spring 2017 June 16, 2017 Swann Records & Results: Spring 2017 The spring 2017 season at Swann Galleries marked the 75th anniversary of our first auction. On March 27, 1942, Benjamin Swann held an auction dedicated to rare and antiquarian books.… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books June 14, 2017 Books & Manuscripts 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.… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Grapefruit: Yoko Ono’s Guide to Living Art June 9, 2017 Art Press & Illustrated Books Grapefruit: Yoko Ono’s Guide to Living Art Visionary Yoko Ono created “event scores” as a way to encourage people to find art and beauty in their quotidian activities. A signed first edition of her seminal self-published book… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Nahui Olin: Muse & Maker June 5, 2017 Art Press & Illustrated Books Nahui Olin: Muse & Maker Nahui Olin, the pseudonym of Carmen Mondragón, was a Mexican Surrealist active in the 1920s and ’30s. She hailed from the upper echelons of Mexican society, and fraternized with the… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about A Personal Collection of Bernhardt Wall Books May 30, 2017 Art Press & Illustrated Books A Personal Collection of Bernhardt Wall Books Bernhardt Wall was an American illustrator active in the first half of the twentieth century. A selection of fine, early or test examples of his work were given to his… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Records & Results: Fall 2016 December 19, 2016 Swann Records & Results: Fall 2016 Fall 2016 has been a successful season at Swann. In 13 sales, we set more than 50 auction records and offered 4,497 lots, including a rediscovered illustration by Dr. Seuss, a… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books December 14, 2016 Books & Manuscripts 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… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about The Cubies’ ABC: Advice or Satire? November 29, 2016 Art Press & Illustrated Books The Cubies’ ABC: Advice or Satire? In the wake of the 1913 Armory Show, art lovers were reeling from their first encounter with modern art. It was the first time Americans were exposed to the radical… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about A Bright Light at a Dark Time: The WPA Handicraft Project November 22, 2016 Art Press & Illustrated Books A Bright Light at a Dark Time: The WPA Handicraft Project One unusual piece in our December 2016 auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books was a six-volume folio of textiles designed and produced by the WPA Handicraft Project in Milwaukee,… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Le Corbusier’s Color Theory Sample Book November 17, 2016 Art Press & Illustrated Books Le Corbusier’s Color Theory Sample Book Before the holidays drive you up a wall, let an unusual piece in our December 1 sale of Art, Press & Illustrated Books soothe you with harmonious colors. Famed… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about The Esther Salinas Collection: A Touching Tribute June 10, 2016 Art Press & Illustrated Books The Esther Salinas Collection: A Touching Tribute When it comes to private collections hitting the auction block, individual lots are fascinating but it can also be incredibly rewarding to consider the scope of a collection… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books December 30, 2015 Art Press & Illustrated Books Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books Our November 24 auction of Art, Press & Illustrated books saw particular success for classical and poetic texts. Specialist Christine von der Linn said,”In this auction major artists illustrating classical… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Leather Bindings, Decorative Dust Jackets and Beyond November 20, 2015 Art Press & Illustrated Books Leather Bindings, Decorative Dust Jackets and Beyond While the old adage tells us that we certainly shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, it’s hard to ignore the artistry that goes into binding books and creating dust… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Celebrating 129 Years of the Statue of Liberty with a Scientific Eye October 28, 2015 Art Press & Illustrated Books Celebrating 129 Years of the Statue of Liberty with a Scientific Eye On this day 129 years ago, the Statue of Liberty was unveiled to an eager crowd of New Yorkers in a ceremony that included fanfare and presidential pomp and circumstance. … Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Warhol’s Wild Raspberries: Delectable Drawings with a Side of Tangy Text June 5, 2015 Art Press & Illustrated Books Warhol’s Wild Raspberries: Delectable Drawings with a Side of Tangy Text Are you exhausted by gourmet cuisine? Wearied by the sight of an elaborately laid table? Andy Warhol and Suzie Frankfurt felt much the same in 1959, a time when the… Share Facebook Twitter
August 21, 2014 Art Press & Illustrated Books The Danish Girl and the Erotic Art of Gerda Wegener A plate from Allatini’s Sur Talons Rouges, illustrated by Gerda Wegener. Many of the biggest names in Hollywood have been rumored to be part of an upcoming film based on… Share Facebook Twitter
April 24, 2014 Art Press & Illustrated Books Collectors on Collecting: Sam Speigel on Collecting Edward Gorey On May 7, Swann will auction The Edward Gorey Collection of Samuel Speigel, and the catalogue for that sale opens with this charming recollection from Speigel himself: Lot 241: The… Share Facebook Twitter
February 11, 2014 Art Press & Illustrated Books The Glory of Gorey: Swann to Offer the Sam Speigel Collection On May 7, Swann will auction one of the top private collections of Edward Gorey books, illustrations and ephemera as part of our Art, Press & Illustrated Books sale. Below,… Share Facebook Twitter
October 23, 2013 Art Press & Illustrated Books Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel: Kindergarten Designer Among the visually appealing works in tomorrow’s auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books is a fascinating pedagogical workbook in the manner of Kindergarten founder Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel’s early… Share Facebook Twitter
May 7, 2013 Art Press & Illustrated Books El Lissitzky: A Russian Avant-Garde Landmark Work Among the highlights of Swann’s Art, Press & Illustrated Books auction on Thursday is Mikhail Larionov’s copy of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s Dlia Golosa [For the Voice], which was designed by Lazar Markovich (aka El Lissitzky). It is featured… Share Facebook Twitter
May 3, 2013 Art Press & Illustrated Books Christine von der Linn on Irving Oaklander Thursday, May 9th, our sale of Art, Press & Illustrated Books will feature the inventory of the late Irving Oaklander, known to all who sought rare books about graphic design,… Share Facebook Twitter
January 18, 2013 Art Press & Illustrated Books Drawings Abound at Swann in the Next Two Weeks The 2013 Swann auction schedule starts earlier than usual this year, and two auctions of drawings and original art have us abuzz with previews and sales in January. Michael Hague,… Share Facebook Twitter
October 24, 2012 Art Press & Illustrated Books Top Lots: Art, Press & Illustrated Books Our October 11 sale of Art, Press & Illustrated Books resulted in strong prices from examples of fine art press books to pop art portfolios. Notably, Gustav Klimt’s first and… Share Facebook Twitter
October 5, 2012 Art Press & Illustrated Books Gustav Klimt’s 150th Birthday and Legacy The prescient motto that has graced the front of the Secession Building in Vienna since 1897–“To every age its art, to art its freedom”–speaks to the legacy of Gustav Klimt… Share Facebook Twitter
July 31, 2012 Art Press & Illustrated Books Vintage Chinese Propaganda Posters [Chairman Mao], 1949. Estimate $1,000 to $1,500. Among the diverse offerings in tomorrow’s auction of Vintage Posters is a selection of more than 30 Chinese propaganda posters, marking the first… Share Facebook Twitter
November 9, 2011 19th & 20th Century Literature Yesterday’s Top Lots: Art, Press & Illustrated Books / 19th & 20th Century Literature Yesterday’s auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books / 19th & 20thCentury Literature saw activity in all sections of the catalogue, and for every successfully sold item, there were numerous… Share Facebook Twitter
November 3, 2011 19th & 20th Century Literature Penises and Pompadours: The Erotic Art of Franz von Bayros Thanks to John D. Larson of Swann’s books department for this eye-opening post! Decadent! Erotic! Phantasmagoric! Fin-de-siècle grotesqueries! Gents and ladies disporting themselves, occasionally with a zealous attention… Share Facebook Twitter
May 5, 2011 Art Press & Illustrated Books Books Arts or Art Books? Call Them What You Will There is a sign tacked to the cork board of the Art & Illustrated Books Department clipped from a forgotten source years ago that states: “What’s the difference between artist’s… Share Facebook Twitter
April 29, 2011 Art Press & Illustrated Books Of Books and Brits: Literature at Swann Today, the world crashes the wedding of Will and Kate through the wonders of digital media. And Swann celebrates the mother country in classic, and always collectible, print form. Agnes… Share Facebook Twitter
March 8, 2011 Art Press & Illustrated Books Edward Gorey’s Posthumous Resurgence Edward Gorey’s career was fittingly designed for a posthumous resurgence. The writer, illustrator, costume and set designer who passed away 10 years ago had an attraction to the dark, mysterious,… Share Facebook Twitter