About Us
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Paulus Swaen Inc.
specializes in maps, atlases, globes, travel posters, master prints and decorative prints from the 16th - 18th century. We specialize in antique maps of all parts of the world, produced by renowned cartographers, such as Ortelius, Mercator, Blaeu, Janssonius, Hondius, Visscher, de Wit, etc.Every sold item will receive a certificate of authenticity. We offer a lifetime guarantee on all our items.
The high-quality standard of our collection of maps and atlases is world-renowned.
The firm was founded in 1978 by Pierre Joppen, the company owner, in the Netherlands. The Gallery was housed until the middle of 1997 in a lovely old building in Geldrop, in the southern part of the Netherlands. Paulus Swaen Inc. has been incorporated in Florida, USA, since 1996, when we started producing our online catalogs.
Pierre Joppen is the president and founder of Paulus Swaen, and since its foundation in 1978, Pierre has specialized in maps, atlases, and globes from the 16th to 18th centuries. He learned early Dutch mapmakers and coloring techniques from 18th-century colorists such as Dirk Jansz. van Santen is world-renowned. Originally trained as a graphic designer, he has a keen eye for the aesthetic aspect of engraving and map-making.
From 1979 to 2022, we conducted online auctions for old maps, prints and atlases.
Currently, we sell items in the BuyNow Gallery.
Contact Us
The best way to contact us is still using our contact formPaulus Swaen, Inc.
901 North Hercules Avenue, Suite A
Clearwater
Florida 33765, USA
email : paulus@swaen.com
Tel. +1 727 687 3298
Amsterdam Representative
Roland Boelen has 25 years of experience building and eventually selling collections. Feel free to contact us if you need any assistance.Tel. +31 (0)20 2255198
Email:
or contact Roland at his mobile phone +31 (0)6 51384297 if you need assistance selling your art.
BuyNow Gallery
Our online BuyNow catalog offers fine maps, atlases, globes, and travel books. The items are available for direct sale and no commission is added.Please look at the BuyNow Gallery catalog or check out our gallery highlights.
Archive Catalog
Paulus Swaen maintains an archive of sold items, including HR images. Most map images are not subject to copyright restrictions 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.
Virtual Collection 
With Virtual Collection, you can save and collect your favorite items in one place. It is free and you can delete an item from your list at any time.We have already added the purchased items or items for which you have placed bids in the past. With one click, you can add any of the 30,000+ maps, prints or Medieval manuscripts from our BuyNow Catalog or Catalog Archive.
You will be the first to be updated when new items in these categories become available in our BuyNow catalog.
Map fairs and meetings in person
We travel around the globe, participating in Antiquarian Map fairs in Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, and London.
Therefore, the best way to contact us is by using the contact form or Chat on WhatsApp alternatively giving us a call at USA +1 (727) 687 3298 or Amsterdam +31 20 2255198
The Map Bar
Take a break and pop in at The Map Bar, the metaverse meeting point, with plenty of antique maps on the wall. Each Tuesday, 1.00 PM EST (7.00 PM Amsterdam), you meet and speak with other collectors, or you will have a chat with a stranger about other things in life. (and you can access it through a browser, so no headset is required). POP IN AT THE MAP BAR
Meta Map.gallery
What was born as an idea from science fiction has long since become reality. The metaverse is more than virtual reality, augmented reality, extended reality, or cyberspace—all those things at once.Walk around in one of our Paulus Swaen metaverse galleries and discover our maps of the Ukraine, World, Hong Kong and Africa.
Valuations
We provide map estimates free of charge, from photographs sent via our online form or as an email attachment. Such auction estimates are not for valuation purposes and are subject to revision on inspection of the object.We do not evaluate maps and atlases published in the 20th century.
Please click here to do a valuation.
Many of our clients these days come from the corporate sector. Many
business headquarters would rather have antique maps on the walls of
their boardrooms than abstract modern art because maps tend to fit into
the traditional office environment.
When collecting items worth over $500, or more commonly in the thousands of dollars, we feel that it is better to buy first-class quality. While it might seem attractive to buy a heavily restored copy for less than the cost of a top-quality item in original colors, you're much better off with first-class quality in the long run.
More than 45 years of experience have taught us that selling a good-quality item requires only setting a price, and then it is easy to make a deal. Remember this when selling your collection!