November 8, 2024Marco TomaschettBooks & Manuscripts Collecting 101: Estimating a George Washington Autograph for Auction Read more about Collecting 101: Estimating a George Washington Autograph for Auction A question I am frequently asked by non-collectors or people new to collecting is, “How do you estimate the value of an autograph?” The question is not easy to answer…
Read more about Auction Highlights: Autographs — November 14, 2024 October 24, 2024 Autographs Auction Highlights: Autographs — November 14, 2024 This November auction will include rare autographs by world leaders, authors, Arthurian legends, and musical figures.
Read more about Auction Highlights: Printed & Manuscript Americana — September 28, 2023 September 6, 2023 Printed & Manuscript Americana Auction Highlights: Printed & Manuscript Americana — September 28, 2023 The September 28, 2023, Americana auction is rich in material from the American Revolution and the Civil War. Highlights include early printed journals of the Continental Congress, a complete run…
Read more about Fine Books & Autographs: March 2, 2023 Auction Highlights February 7, 2023 Fine Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Autographs: March 2, 2023 Auction Highlights Our March 2 Fine Books & Autographs sale will feature an outstanding selection of presidential autographs, including clipped signatures and signed letters by George Washington. More than three items are…
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 Fine Books & Autographs: October 27, 2022 Auction Highlights October 4, 2022 Art Press & Illustrated Books Fine Books & Autographs: October 27, 2022 Auction Highlights A large assemblage of extraordinary Americana autographs includes a sweeping group of presidents, and many founding fathers. More than three items are signed by George Washington, including an autograph survey…
Read more about Printed & Manuscript Americana: September 29, 2022 Auction Highlights September 6, 2022 Printed & Manuscript Americana Printed & Manuscript Americana: September 29, 2022 Auction Highlights The highlight of our September Americana auction will be a large archive of family papers of Gideon Welles, who served as secretary of the Navy through the Civil War. Included…
Read more about Ship’s Papers, Passports, and Privateers: Marco Tomaschett on Collectible Documents and U.S. Maritime History February 22, 2021 Autographs Ship’s Papers, Passports, and Privateers: Marco Tomaschett on Collectible Documents and U.S. Maritime History Water vessels played a critical role in shaping the early history of America. That U.S. maritime history is brief relative to some other nations is an advantage, because many artifacts…
Read more about Autographs by Washington, Hamilton & Hancock Bring Top Prices in November 2020 Sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts November 23, 2020 Books & Manuscripts 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 Autographs: Davy Crockett, Greta Garbo, Annie Oakley & Herman Melville—Fall 2019 August 27, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Autographs: Davy Crockett, Greta Garbo, Annie Oakley & Herman Melville—Fall 2019 Signed material by artists, authors, politicians, musicians and more, including Davy Crockett, Walt Disney, Annie Oakley, Babe Ruth, Greta Garbo, Franz Liszt, George Washington.
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs March 28, 2019 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Auction Record for Mohawk Chief & Loyalist Joseph Brant at Swann Our Autographs sale on March 21 saw significant interest in Americana, scientists and popular figures. Of the sale Marco Tomaschett, the house’s autographs Specialist, noted: “Highest…
Read more about 2017-18 Year in Review June 25, 2018 Swann 2017-18 Year in Review The 2017-18 auction season at Swann Galleries was replete with record prices and rediscovered paintings, offering works created as early as the fifteenth century and as recently as last year.…
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 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 Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana April 16, 2018 Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana Our auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana on April 12 was the department’s highest-grossing sale in four years, continuing an upward trajectory as each offering of Americana and African Americana…
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs March 26, 2018 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Our auction of Autographs on March 22 offered a selection of letters, photographs and works by some of history’s greatest game-changers, with communications by founding fathers, letters from artists and…
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 A Look Inside the Catalogue: Autographs January 15, 2018 Autographs A Look Inside the Catalogue: Autographs Gracing this March 22 sale is a poem completed by Walt Whitman on his deathbed, transcribed by a secretary and signed, with holograph edits. It was his last poem, entitled A…
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: Autographs November 9, 2017 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Our auction on November 7 saw fine results for Autographs by important historical figures in a variety of fields, from government to science to music. The total of $662K exceeded the…
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 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…