Swann Galleries
New York's oldest specialty auction house, selling rare books, maps, autographs, photographs, prints, posters and African American art in about 40 sales a year. What it sells, how buying works there and what it costs, with a straight link to the house.
- Founded
- 1941
- Based in
- New York
- Sales a year
- About 40
- Buyer's premium
- 27%
Go to Swann Galleries →How buying worksFees
About Swann Galleries
Swann held its first auction in New York in March 1942 and has stayed a specialist ever since, focusing on things printed, written and photographed. Its saleroom is at 104 East 25th Street in Manhattan.
Collectors know Swann for rare books, maps and atlases, autographs, photographs, prints and drawings, and vintage posters, and for its sales of African American art and of LGBTQ+ art and history. Every lot has a reserve of half its low estimate, which is printed in the catalog.
What Swann Galleries sells
How buying works at Swann Galleries
- Make an accountYou need a Swann online account to bid. Phone bidding is set up by phone or online form.
- Choose how to bidBid live online with Swann Live, in the Swann Galleries app for iPhone and Android, by telephone (staff call about five lots before yours), with an absentee bid from any lot page, or in person. Invaluable also carries its sales.
- Add the costsThe buyer's premium is added to the hammer price, plus sales tax and shipping.
- PayInvoices go out about an hour after the sale. Remote buyers get a preliminary invoice by email and a final one within a week.
- ShipShipping is added to your invoice under Swann's terms.
What it costs
Swann's buyer's premium when you buy directly from the house:
| Hammer price | Buyer's premium |
|---|---|
| Up to $100,000 | 27% |
| $100,000 to $1 million | 22% |
| Over $1 million | 12% |
| Bidding through Invaluable or LiveAuctioneers | +5% |
Each band applies only to the part of the price inside it: a $10,000 lot costs $12,700 direct, or $13,200 through Invaluable or LiveAuctioneers, before tax and shipping.
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UX Search is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Swann Galleries. Bidding, payment and delivery all happen on the house's own site under its own terms. Information checked October 21, 2026 from swanngalleries.com (buying, about); fees and rules can change, so confirm them on the sale page.