Last year, we stopped our Auction/Buy-or-Bid activities. Learn more [+]

In 2025, we will sell rare antique maps, atlases, and prints in our BuyNow Gallery and send a weekly stock update with exclusive offers and newly added items. Join our Mailing List >>>


Swaen BuyNow GALLERY CATALOG

Our BuyNow-catalog offers immediate sale items, and no commission is charged. The catalog includes old maps of the World - America - Asia - Europe - Africa - Medieval Manuscripts - Nuremberg Chronicle - Prints - Posters, atlases, globes, etc.
All items are available for immediate sale, and we will provide a certificate of authenticity.

VIRTUAL COLLECTION
With Virtual Collection, you can save and collect your favorite items in one place by pressing the Virtual Collection Virtual Collection icon!
Save any of the 30.000+ maps, prints or Medieval manuscripts in our BuyNow Catalog OR Catalog Archive to build your own Virtual Collection.


about us
About Paulus Swaen

The firm was founded by Pierre Joppen (to the left) in 1978 in the Netherlands and in 1996 we moved to Florida, where the Internet auction was added that year. >>>>
You can buy items in our online BuyNow catalog and see what is currently available.

newsletter
Join our Newsletter

Be the first to get notified about our weekly added new listings, newsletters, and special offers.

The Map Bar

Every Tuesday 1PM EST or 19.00 Amsterdam, meet in The Map Bar at Meta4Maps.com, a metaverse meeting point with plenty of antique maps on the wall to have a chat with other map enthusiasts.

Recent Updates
Recent Acquisitions
You can always check our new acquisitions page to see what we’ve recently added. Let's look at some rare maps, atlases, and wall maps we recently acquired. Which is your favorite?

Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to be notified of new acquisitions and get exclusive offers.

mapmakers
Mapmakers and explorers

Sometimes, maps become more famous than their makers. Many cartographers only become famous after they’ve created a masterpiece.
Still, others make a famous map, then disappear from history forever.

The Mapping of...
The Mapping of...

We have created some short articles about mapping of Arabia, Australia, Canada, China, Hungary, Invasion of Minorca, Japan, Korea, Malta, Mer de l'Ouest, Northwest Passage, Poland, Russia, South East Asia, Taiwan and Ukraine.

Title pages
The Curated Collection

This is a collection of carefully selected old and rare maps, which are all graded with 8-10 stars in the HiBCoR grading system
This carefully selected list of old and rare maps, atlas and books have all in common that they are extraordinary items that make a difference to any collection.

catalog archive
Catalog Archive

Paulus Swaen maintains an archive of sold items, including HR images. Most map images are not restricted by copyright and can be used freely, as most are in the public domain. These historically achieved prices can help understand the pricing development of old maps and help with placing bids.


Articles about maps
Read our short articles

If you are interested in the backgrounds of antique maps, prints, mapmakers, etc. then you should read our short but informative articles >>>>
Or other subjects such as posters, old prints, Nuremberg Chronicle, optical prints, medieval manuscripts, trading companies, etc.



Recently Viewed

The Soviet Political Poster.

An attractive Soviet Union political poster. The poster was part of a set of reproductions from poster originally published from 1919 to the 1970s. Published in Leningrad...

Maker / Publisher: G. PAVLOV
Place & Date: Leningrad, Aurora Art Publishers, 1976
Selling price: $15
Sold in 2022

 


Dulcigno [Ulcinj in Montenegro]

Very rare view of Ulcinj in Montenegro published in the first edition of "Viaggio da Venetia, a Costantinopoli. Per Mare, e per Terra, & infieme quello di Terra ...

$450 / ≈ €396
Maker / Publisher: ROSACCIO, Giuseppe.
Place & Date: Venice, Giacomo Franco, 1598

 


Delineatio Foederis Hollandorum cum Rege Calecutanorum pacti.

A treaty between the Dutch and the king of Calicut. The Dutch Admiral, Steffan van der Haagen already knew that the people of Calicut, on the Malabar Coast of India, were...

$100 / ≈ €88
Maker / Publisher: DE BRY, Th.
Place & Date: Frankfurt, 1609

 


Gonsaluus Pizarrus wird uberwunden gefangen und enthauptet.

Pizarro returned to Spain in 1528 and appealed to the king to grant him permission to conquer Peru. With him, he brought gold and silver, as evidence of their potential w...

$100 / ≈ €88
Maker / Publisher: DE BRY, Th.
Place & Date: Frankfurt, 1607