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

Map of the Imperialist Division of China

Unusual, large silkscreened map of China based on the serio-comic map drawn in 1899 by Tse Tsan-tai, Chinese patriot and co-founder of Hong Kong's South China Morning Po...

Maker / Publisher: After Tse Tsan-tai
Place & Date: China, C. 1960-1980
Selling price: $100
Sold in 2023

 


[Phuket - Harbour]

Scarce Japanese chart of Phuket prepared by Daisuke Soejima Daikin and probably the first detailed chart of the region made just after the capture of Thailand by the Japa...

Maker / Publisher: JAPAN WATER WAY DEPARTMENT
Place & Date: Japan, August 1942
Selling price: $750
Sold in 2023

 


Tabula Asiae I.

Uncommon first edition of this classical map of Turkey, prepared by Ptolemy.Girolamo Ruscelli's edition of Ptolemy's Geographia included newly engraved copperplates by Gi...

Maker / Publisher: RUSCELLI, G.
Place & Date: Venice, 1561
Selling price: $170
Sold in 2022

 


Mem-O-Map of the Philippine Islands.

Postwar map of the Philippines designed to help soldiers revisit their experiences.On board a ship returning home from the Pacific Theater, John Drury got together with o...

$250 / ≈ €220
Maker / Publisher: DRURY, J.
Place & Date: United-States, 1945
Selling price: $250
Sold in 2022