Swann Galleries

Last updated
Swann Auction Galleries
IndustryAuctioneering
Founded New York City, New York, U.S.
(1941)
FounderBenjamin Swann
Headquarters104 East 25 Street, New York City, New York, U.S.
Key people
George Lowry,
Chairman
Nicholas Lowry,
President, Principal Auctioneer
ProductsRare Books/Fine Art
Website swanngalleries.com

Swann Galleries is a New York City auction house founded in 1941. It is a specialist auctioneer of antique and rare works on paper, and it is considered the oldest continually operating New York specialist auction house.

Contents

The company has separate specialist departments for books, autographs and manuscripts, maps and atlases, photographs and photographic literature, prints and drawings, vintage posters, illustration art, and African-American fine art. Additionally, Swann conducts annual sales of printed and manuscript African Americana. [1] In total, Swann conducts over 35 catalogued live auctions a year.

History

Book dealer Benjamin Swann founded the family-owned firm in 1941. In 1970, George Lowry acquired the business from Mr. Swann, and it is now headed by Nicholas D. Lowry, the third generation at the company’s helm.

For over thirty years, Swann has been located on East 25th Street, just one block east of Madison Square Park, at the boundaries of the historic Murray Hill, Gramercy Park, and Flatiron districts.

Affiliations

Swann is one of the founding members of International Auctioneers (IA), formed in 1993 by some of the world’s leading independent auction houses. Current European members are located in Stockholm, Cologne, Milan, Paris, Zurich, Geneva, and Vienna. [2]

Swann is the only auction house that is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, which actively promotes an ethical professionalism in the dealing and trading of rare books. [3]

Many of the specialists at Swann share their expertise on PBSAntiques Roadshow, where they assess people’s antiques and collectibles in the quest for hidden gems. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book collecting</span> Activity of collecting books

Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and a person who collects books is often called a bibliophile but can also be known as an bibliolater, meaning being overly devoted to books, or a bookman which is another term for a person who has a love of books.

A. S. W. Rosenbach American collector (1876–1952)

Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach was an American collector, scholar, and seller of rare books and manuscripts. In London, where he frequently attended the auctions at Sotheby's, he was known as "The Terror of the Auction Room." In Paris, he was called "Le Napoléon des Livres", which translates to "The Napoleon of Books." Many others referred to him as "Dr. R.", a "Robber Baron" and "the Greatest Bookdealer in the World".

David Klein was an American artist, best known for his influential work in advertising. Although he produced illustrations for Broadway theatrical productions, Hollywood films, the United States Army, and numerous corporate clients, Klein is best remembered for the iconic travel images he created for Howard Hughes and Trans World Airlines (TWA) during the 1950s and 1960s.

The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) is an organization in the United States for dealers in rare and antiquarian books. The association is a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).

The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is a non-profit umbrella organization of bookseller associations, with its legal location in Geneva, Switzerland. It federates 22 National Associations of Antiquarian Booksellers, representing nearly 2000 dealers in 32 countries. Antiquarian booksellers affiliated to the League adhere to the ILAB Code of Ethics, and the League aims to server as a global network for the rare book trade.

The antiquarian book trade in the United States is an aspect of book collecting and publishing. The term antiquarian, in general, refers to antiquities and collectible items usually considered old and rare, usually in reference to books, but is not limited to books. The word antiquarian could also be used to describe a person who collects rare books or other antique items.

Skinner is an American auction house. It is one of the world's leading auction houses for antiques and fine art. It is the only full-service auction house headquartered in New England.

Hilary Kay

Hilary Marion Kay is a British antiques expert, author and lecturer, probably best known for her many appearances on BBC TVs Antiques Roadshow programme on which she is a member of the team of experts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sandon</span> British expert on ceramics and glass

John Sandon is a British expert and prolific author on ceramics and glass. He is best known as an expert on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, which he joined in 1985.

Clive Farahar is a British dealer and expert on books and manuscripts. He is best known as an expert on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, which he joined in 1986.

Jon Baddeley is a fine art auctioneer, an authority on scientific instruments and collectables, a broadcaster and an author.

Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) is the first auction house to specialize in 20th century Modern art and design. Founded by Peter Loughrey in 1992, LAMA especially champions Modern and Contemporary works by California and West Coast artists and designers.

Kenneth Karmiole

Kenneth Karmiole is an American bookseller and philanthropist. He is President of Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller, Inc., located in Santa Monica, California, established in 1976, an antiquarian bookselling firm specializing in early printed books and manuscripts.

The Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar, founded in the late 1970s, provides training for dealers in out-of-print, used, and antiquarian books.

Ken Sanders is an American antiquarian bookseller who is also well known for his tenacious pursuit of book thieves. He organized a sting operation to capture John Charles Gilkey, and is a major focus of the book The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, about Gilkey's thefts. He has been an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow. He was raised in Salt Lake City, where he "was a serious book collector by age 17."

Known as Walker's Auctions, Walker's Fine Art & Estate Auctioneers Inc. is a Canadian auction house specializing in Inuit, Canadian, and European art. Founded in Ottawa in 1937, Walker's Auctions is active in the global art market as the leading reseller of Inuit Art. Headquartered in Ottawa, auctions are also held in Toronto and previewed in Montreal.

Justin Croft is a British antiquarian bookseller and an expert in books and manuscripts on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, which he joined in 2005.

Katharine Kyes Leab American publisher and editor (1941–2020)

Katharine Kyes Leab was an American publisher, expert on rare books and manuscripts, and co-owner and editor-in-chief of American Book Prices Current, known as "the grande dame of book auction data."

Justin G. Schiller

Justin Galland Schiller is an American bookseller specializing in rare and collectible children's books; proprietor during his student days under his own name (1960-1969), then Justin G. Schiller, Ltd. (1969–2020). Headquartered in New York City, it was the oldest specialist firm in the United States, focusing on historical and collectible children's books, related original art, and manuscripts. In 1988, he formed a second corporation—Battledore Ltd, with his partner and spouse Dennis M V David, to further specialize in original children's book illustration art and the legacy of Maurice Sendak.

Christopher Coover was an American antiquarian book expert. He worked for Christie's in New York City for 35 years. He also was an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow.

References

  1. Kahn, Eve M. "Flickery Images of Black Life Back Then" . Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  2. http://www.internationalauctioneers.com/eng/index_frame.asp
  3. "Rare Books - ABAA Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America". www.abaa.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-30.
  4. "Antiques Roadshow | PBS". PBS .

Coordinates: 40°44′28″N73°59′06″W / 40.74100°N 73.98493°W / 40.74100; -73.98493