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

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

[Lot of 2 prints] TABLEAU ANALYTIQUE des différentes positions de la Sphère, des diff'rents systèmes, des révolutions et des distances des Planètes, &c.

Attractive set of two prints with a celestial and a terrestial globe, two spheres demonstrating the celestial systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus and several other diag...

Maker / Publisher: Charles François Delamarche
Place & Date: Pris, c. 1790
Selling price: ????
Please login to see price!
Sold in 2023

 


[No title] Gouache of a class scene with globe, revolting students and a teacher.

Gouache of a class scene with a globe centered on Europe and Africa with revolting students and a teacher. Original design for a pulp publication.

$350 / ≈ €299
Maker / Publisher: ANONYMOUS
Place & Date: ca. 1950-1960

 


B. & F.B.S. language maps.

The eight maps show Europe and Asia Minor, etc. Northern Africa. Central and Southern Africa. India and Burma. East Indian Archipelago. Eastern Asia, etc. Australasia, et...

$225 / ≈ €192
Maker / Publisher: HHILIP & SON LTD
Place & Date: London. Maps are dated 1924

 


Descriptio Narsingae / Narsinga et Ceylon.

A rare miniature map of the southern part of India with Sri Lanka. The title cartouche on the upper right corner.First published in 1598 in his Caert-Thresoor, the plates...

$350 / ≈ €299
Maker / Publisher: LANGENES, B. / BERTIUS, P.
Place & Date: Amsterdam, Cornelis Claes, 1606