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 John Woodhouse Audubon: The California Gray Squirrel December 14, 2020 Books & Manuscripts 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 Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books: At Auction July 9, 2020 June 11, 2020 Maps & Atlases Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books: At Auction July 9, 2020 An exquisite selection of antiquarian maps and atlases, globes, color plate books, works by John James Audubon, Currier & Ives, and more.
Read more about 2010-19: The Decade in Review January 13, 2020 Swann 2010-19: The Decade in Review The 2010s brought Swann a number of notable moments including memorable sales, the establishment of two new departments, and the celebration of the 75th anniversary of our first sale. Here we take a look at some of favorite highlights from the last ten years.
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Lewis Evans May 23, 2019 Maps & Atlases Notes from the Catalogue: Lewis Evans Lewis Evans’ General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America was one of the most significant and influential maps published in Colonial America. On it, Evans described the land beyond the…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books June 12, 2018 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Our auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books on June 7 brought to market landmarks from the history of cartography and ornithology. The nearly 400 lots…
Read more about The Original Beaver Map & Its Legacy June 1, 2018 Maps & Atlases The Original Beaver Map & Its Legacy Tucked into the top left corner of an eighteenth-century map in our June 7 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books is a vignette that at…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books February 3, 2018 Maps & Atlases A Look Inside the Catalogue: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books At Auction June 7 This auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books encompasses a broad range of American and European cartography. Complete Catalogue Maps Highlights…
Read more about What Sets A Chart Apart? January 19, 2018 Maps & Atlases What Sets A Chart Apart? We asked specialist Caleb Kiffer to reminisce about some of the most interesting and important charts we’ve handled in the last few years. Why charts? We wanted to explore (pun…
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: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 8, 2017 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Maps were so plentiful at our December 5 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books that one could be forgiven for getting lost. Many buyers chose…
Read more about Schedel’s Map: The Last View of the Old World November 28, 2017 Maps & Atlases Schedel’s Map: The Last View of the Old World A historic map shows us where we’ve been, not only geographically but also in terms of the extent of our knowledge, our beliefs and even our technology. Two works coming…
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.…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books June 12, 2017 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Our June 7 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books saw strong results with multiple auction debuts and records, as well as a plethora of unique…
Read more about Leaving the Land: Ship’s Logs from England to the Mediterranean in the Nineteenth Century May 30, 2017 Maps & Atlases Leaving the Land: Ship’s Logs from England to the Mediterranean in the Nineteenth Century In January of 1819, Captain William Hodgson steered the three-masted merchant ship Transit down the River Avon from Bristol, beginning a six-month voyage toward the Mediterranean. The ship’s log book he…
Read more about The Endless Mountains: A Map That Promised More May 26, 2017 Maps & Atlases The Endless Mountains: A Map That Promised More Specialist Caleb Kiffer of our Maps & Atlases department on one of his favorite pieces in our June 7 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books: a…
Read more about George & Robert Cruikshank, Early Caricaturists May 11, 2017 Books & Manuscripts 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…
Read more about On A Previously Unknown First State of de Wit’s Map of the Netherlands November 30, 2016 Maps & Atlases On A Previously Unknown First State of de Wit’s Map of the Netherlands This post was written by Maps & Atlases Specialist Caleb Kiffer in advance of our December 8, 2016 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books. The…
Read more about Politics & Satire: The Etchings of James Gillray May 25, 2016 Maps & Atlases Politics & Satire: The Etchings of James Gillray With the presidential primary election in full swing, we’re all up to our eyeballs in satirical columns and cartoons. In the spirit of the season, we thought we’d look at…
Read more about The Foundation of a Capital: Early Maps of Washington D.C. December 5, 2015 Maps & Atlases The Foundation of a Capital: Early Maps of Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., with its neoclassical architecture and grand monuments, almost seems as if it arose organically over centuries on the shores of the Potomac. In reality, the Capital City was…
Read more about A Famous Cartographic Blunder: The Island of California May 15, 2015 Maps & Atlases A Famous Cartographic Blunder: The Island of California For more than a century the state of California was thought to be an island. How? Misinformation by way of maps. In Mapping the West: America’s Westward Movement 1524-1890 (2002),…
Read more about Taking a Closer Look: A Map of Kyoto as the Imperial Capital of Japan May 30, 2014 Maps & Atlases Taking a Closer Look: A Map of Kyoto as the Imperial Capital of Japan The June 3, 2014 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books is marked by a number of unique or exceedingly rare examples of cartographic material and…
Read more about Battle of the Nile Sketch: The French Fleet on the Eve of Its Destruction April 16, 2014 Maps & Atlases Battle of the Nile Sketch: The French Fleet on the Eve of Its Destruction Swann Galleries’ June 3, 2014 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books offers an unparalleled sketch from life of the Battle of the Nile attributed to Captain James…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: John Randel’s Map of New York May 14, 2013 Maps & Atlases Notes from the Catalogue: John Randel’s Map of New York Among the highlights of Swann’s June 6 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Historical Prints, Ephemera is a Final Commissioner’s Map of New York City by John Randel,…