Swann Galleries is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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. The company has separate specialist departments for

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

s and

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

s and

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

es, photographs and photographic literature, prints and drawings, vintage

posters A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text ...

, illustration art, and African-American fine art. Additionally, Swann conducts annual sales of printed and manuscript African

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

. 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 Madison Square is a town square, public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. The square ...

Park, at the boundaries of the historic Murray Hill, Gramercy Park, and

Flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron * Hair iron Places * Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named afte ...

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. Swann is the only auction house that is a member of the

Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America 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). History Fou ...

, which actively promotes an ethical professionalism in the dealing and trading of rare books. Many of the specialists at Swann share their expertise on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

’ ''Antiques Roadshow'', where they assess people’s antiques and collectibles in the quest for hidden gems.

References

African-American Art Arrives

External links

* {{Coord, 40.74100, -73.98493, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Auction houses based in New York City American companies established in 1941 Retail companies established in 1941 Commercial buildings in Manhattan 1941 establishments in New York City