July 15, 2024Chloe Lesser19th & 20th Century Literature This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2024 Auctions in Review Read more about This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2024 Auctions in Review In the 2024 Winter-Spring season, Swann Galleries continued to provide high-quality auctions of unusual and rare material. Several single-owner collections were featured, including Illustration Art: Featuring Highlights from the Collection…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana — March 21, 2024 March 27, 2024 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana — March 21, 2024 Swann’s March 21, 2024 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana proved once again to be a success among institutions and collectors alike. The sale brought $967,061, closing well within…
Read more about Listen to Jackie Robinson Speaking at an Ohio Civil Rights Rally in 1964 March 5, 2024 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Listen to Jackie Robinson Speaking at an Ohio Civil Rights Rally in 1964 This civil rights rally was held in Columbus, OH, a few months after the March on Washington and just as the congressional fight for the Civil Rights Act approached the…
Read more about Auction Highlights: Printed & Manuscript African Americana — March 21, 2024 February 12, 2024 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Auction Highlights: Printed & Manuscript African Americana — March 21, 2024 One of our largest African Americana auctions to date includes important documentation of the abolition movement, catalogues and posters for exhibits by leading Black artists, previously unseen Black Panther material, and material on Black-owned businesses.
Read more about Nicholas D. Lowry’s Specialist Picks: Favorite Lots from The Subculture Sale January 31, 2024 Vintage Posters Nicholas D. Lowry’s Specialist Picks: Favorite Lots from The Subculture Sale Nicholas D. Lowry shares his picks for The Subculture Sale. Bidding open now through February 8.
Read more about 2023: Year in Review December 19, 2023 Swann 2023: Year in Review Swann Galleries continued to offer exceptional auctions of quality material in 2023. The year featured several collections, including a special selection of 100 works from the Stephen White collection in…
Read more about A Look Back At Swann’s Book & Manuscripts Sales July 6, 2023 Books & Manuscripts A Look Back At Swann’s Book & Manuscripts Sales Winter/Spring 2023 Brings a Record-Breaking Season for the Books & Manuscripts Department Books and manuscripts had a standout winter/spring season at Swann. “As a company whose origins are as a…
Read more about Records & Results: Spring 2023 Sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana April 3, 2023 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Records & Results: Spring 2023 Sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana The March 2023 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana brings $1.3M making it the highest-grossing sale for the category and the third-largest sale for Swann’s books and manuscripts department.
Read more about Rick Stattler’s Auction Selections for Spring 2023 March 29, 2023 Books & Manuscripts Rick Stattler’s Auction Selections for Spring 2023 Spring has just about sprung, and Swann Galleries’ resident Americana specialist, and director of the house’s books and manuscripts department, is sharing a selection of lots from the 2023 auction schedule that will put you in the spirit for the season.
Read more about Printed & Manuscript African Americana: March 30, 2023 Auction Highlights March 3, 2023 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Printed & Manuscript African Americana: March 30, 2023 Auction Highlights Our March 30 Printed & Manuscript African Americana sale will offer an outstanding manuscript broadside of the 13th Amendment ending slavery, signed by the Vice President and 111 congressmen. It…
Read more about 2022: Year in Review January 3, 2023 19th & 20th Century Literature 2022: Year in Review 2022 was a historic year for Swann in more ways than one. The house celebrated its 80th year of auctions, bringing with it the 70th anniversary of the first photography…
Read more about This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2022 Auctions in Review August 22, 2022 19th & 20th Century Literature This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2022 Auctions in Review The winter-spring auction season at Swann is a masterclass in marathon training, and the 2022 iteration proved no different with 20 auctions held between late January and the middle of August.
Read more about At Auction March 24 — Selections from the Collection of Jack Greenberg March 15, 2022 Printed & Manuscript African Americana At Auction March 24 — Selections from the Collection of Jack Greenberg Offerings from the Collection of Civil Rights Attorney Jack Greenberg in our March 24 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana Our March 24 Printed and Manuscript African Americana auction…
Read more about Printed Manuscript & African Americana: March 24, 2022 Auction Highlights February 23, 2022 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Printed Manuscript & African Americana: March 24, 2022 Auction Highlights Our March 24 Printed Manuscript & African Americana sale will feature important material, from slavery through the civil rights era, as well as noteworthy literature and music, including iconic cornerstone…
Read more about 2021: Year in Review December 22, 2021 Swann 2021: Year in Review As we close out another successful year at Swann we look back at our record-filled sales.
Read more about Artists of the WPA & the Dawn of a New American Identity December 20, 2021 The Artists of the WPA Artists of the WPA & the Dawn of a New American Identity The New Deal not only established a great legacy, but a greater generation of artists whose works defined the American spirit.
Read more about Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women November 5, 2021 Focus On Women Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women This past summer Swann held its first auction devoted to works by women. We are pleased to annouce another edition of this sale, to be held in June 2022, once again spearheaded by Devon Eastland, our Early Printed Books Specialist, but offering a wide assortment of material
Read more about First Sale Dedicated to the Accomplishments of Women at Swann Exceeds High Estimate July 20, 2021 Focus On Women First Sale Dedicated to the Accomplishments of Women at Swann Exceeds High Estimate Early Printed Book, Archives, Vernacular and Fine Art Photography, Among other Material, Draws Interest Among Collectors The house’s inaugural Focus on Women sale on Thursday, July 15, 2021 brought $333,893…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Focus on Women — At Auction July 15, 2021 June 28, 2021 Focus On Women Upcoming Highlights: Focus on Women — At Auction July 15, 2021 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, though we accept order bids,…
Read more about Play Ball!: The Unlikely Tradition of Baseball Ephemera at Swann April 1, 2021 Swann Play Ball!: The Unlikely Tradition of Baseball Ephemera at Swann With the arrival of baseball’s Opening Day, spring is truly here. Swann does not handle baseball memorabilia in the traditional sense, leaving the encapsulated gem-mint rookie cards and game-worn jerseys to…
Read more about Spring 2021 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana Brings $1M March 29, 2021 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Spring 2021 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana Brings $1M Our March 25, 2021 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana brought interest from collectors and institutions alike, as well as buyers both new and familiar from across the globe.…
Read more about Listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking to the SCLC Board in 1968 March 19, 2021 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking to the SCLC Board in 1968 Any piece of oratory by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a part of the nation’s heritage, but the speech offered in our March 25, 2021 sale of Printed &…
Read more about Early Black-Owned Business Ephemera March 19, 2021 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Early Black-Owned Business Ephemera “Surely you are not going to shut the door in my face!” Since the establishment of the Printed & Manuscript African Americana sale in 1996, Swann has offered a selection…
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 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 Swann Ushers in a New Era of Live Online Sales with Printed & Manuscript African Americana May 20, 2020 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Swann Ushers in a New Era of Live Online Sales with Printed & Manuscript African Americana Our Thursday, May 7, 2020 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana was held live online and was conducted remotely. “This was a strong auction regardless of the circumstances. The…
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 Romare Bearden’s Letters to Art Historian Harry B. Henderson, Jr. March 26, 2020 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Romare Bearden’s Letters to Art Historian Harry B. Henderson, Jr. Here we take look at letters, postcards and greeting cards from Romare Bearden to his longtime friend and collaborator Harry Henderson, as well as touch on the 2005 sale of Henderson’s art collection that made the establishment of our African-American Fine Art Department possible.
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 Listen to Tapes of a 1961 Interview with Leaders of the Atlanta Student Movement March 20, 2020 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Listen to Tapes of a 1961 Interview with Leaders of the Atlanta Student Movement On June 8, 1961, a journalist for The Protestant Hour, a long-running and widely syndicated weekly radio program out of Atlanta, sat down with four leaders of the Atlanta Student Movement to discuss their work in nonviolent direct action. Two reel-to-reel tapes were created as a result of the interview.
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 Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana April 2, 2019 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana A Record for The Negro Travelers’ Green Book Among Printed & Manuscript African Americana at Swann Our Printed & Manuscript African Americana on Thursday, March 28 saw a sell-through rate of 90%, a record for the category. Enthusiastic bidding was seen across all…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript African Americana February 23, 2019 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript African Americana At Auction March 28 Complete Catalogue A highlight is volume one, issue one of the Mirror of Liberty, July 1838–the first African-American periodical–edited by David Ruggles, and believed to be…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana April 2, 2018 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana Institutional purchases dominated the buying field at our auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana on March 29. The top lots of the auction were almost entirely manuscripts, archives, early…
Read more about Huey Newton’s Portraits & The Founding of the Black Panthers March 23, 2018 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Huey Newton’s Portraits & The Founding of the Black Panthers New findings in our March 29 auction of Printed & Manuscript African-Americana clarify information behind iconic portraits of Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton. Ensconced in a wicker…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript African Americana January 16, 2018 Printed & Manuscript African Americana A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript African Americana On March 29 we will offer Printed & Manuscript African Americana, an array of material that encompasses a wide range of the African-American experience, from letters by Frederick Douglass to his…
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 Significant George Washington Carver Archive Coming to Auction March 25, 2014 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Significant George Washington Carver Archive Coming to Auction Among the highlights of our March 2014 auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana is an extraordinary archive of letters written by George Washington Carver between 1925 and 1937. The…
March 13, 2013 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Notes from the Catalogue: The Emancipation Proclamation “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal” declares the extraordinary document brought forth by our founders on July 4, 1776. But as we…
Read more about James Amos Porter Archive Comes to Auction January 29, 2010 Printed & Manuscript African Americana James Amos Porter Archive Comes to Auction Among the highlights of our 15th annual auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana is an incredible archive comprising James Amos Porter’s African-American Art History Reference materials. The lot contains…