Swann Galleries

New York City auction house


title: "Swann Galleries" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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"] description: "New York City auction house" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swann_Galleries" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary New York City auction house ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameSwann Auction Galleries
logoSwann Galleries logo 2012-bk-trans.gif
foundationNew York City, New York, U.S.
(1941)
founderBenjamin Swann
location104 East 25 Street, New York City, New York, U.S.
key_peopleGeorge Lowry,
Chairman
Nicholas Lowry,
President, Principal Auctioneer
industryAuctioneering
productsRare Books/Fine Art
homepage
::

| name = Swann Auction Galleries | type = | genre = | logo = Swann Galleries logo 2012-bk-trans.gif | foundation = New York City, New York, U.S. (1941) | founder = Benjamin Swann | location_city = | location_country = | location = 104 East 25 Street, New York City, New York, U.S. | locations = | area_served = | key_people = George Lowry, Chairman Nicholas Lowry, President, Principal Auctioneer | industry = Auctioneering | products = Rare Books/Fine Art | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | slogan = | homepage = | footnotes = | intl = 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.

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. 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 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.

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.

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.

References

References

  1. (20 February 2009). "Flickery Images of Black Life Back Then". The New York Times.
  2. "Contact".
  3. "Rare Books - ABAA Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America".
  4. "Antiques Roadshow".

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auction-houses-based-in-new-york-cityamerican-companies-established-in-1941retail-companies-established-in-1941commercial-buildings-in-manhattan1941-establishments-in-new-york-city