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 in 1978 in the Netherlands and moved to Florida in 1996, where we started selling on the internet. >>>>
You can buy items in our online BuyNow catalog and see what is currently available.

newsletter
Join our Newsletter
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

Biturigium.

Miniature map of the middle of France with in the centre of the map Bourges, with major cities named. Strapwork title cartouche at the top. Latin text on verso.

Maker / Publisher: ORTELIUS,A./COIGNET.M.
Place & Date: Antwerp 1609

 


Vue de Malthe du cote du Fort.

A so-called optical print of Valletta seen from the castle. This rare optical print shows people in typical French dresses in the foreground and placed in boats.In the ei...

$450 / ≈ €384
Maker / Publisher: BASSET.
Place & Date: Paris, 1798

 


To the Right Honourable William Lord Cowper, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. This Map of Asia According to ye Newest and Most Exact Observations is Most Humbly Dedicated ...'

A large and elegant map of Asia with seven insets of Nova Zembla, the British factories in Chusan and Amoy, the Hellespont, the Gulf of Smyrna and the Hugli River. Englis...

Maker / Publisher: MOLL, Herman.
Place & Date: London, 1716