About Black Swan Books

WELCOME TO BLACK SWAN BOOKS IN RICHMOND VIRGINIA, "WHERE OLD BOOKS MEET NEW FRIENDS"

In 1997 Nicholas Cooke established Black Swan Books. Our moniker comes from William Byrd II, who was known as the Black Swan. Byrd founded the city of Richmond, and was one of the more noted book collectors in Colonial America.

After occupying two different store fronts in Richmond's Fan District, we relocated in 2019 to an office space in Richmond’s Scott's Addition neighborhood. We now focus almost entirely on rare and antiquarian books as well as letters, manuscripts, photographs and ephemeral material. We actively seek out the unusual in all of these areas. We send out regular electronic catalogues and exhibit at various antiquarian book fairs throughout the year.

One of the pleasures of the book trade, aside from the books themselves, is meeting people who share our passion, talking with fellow book lovers, introducing them to our new acquisitions, answering question they might have about books, and learning from them as well. We have made friends with booklovers all over the world, and have developed relationships with customers who return to us again and again.

We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America; the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers; and the Virginia Antiquarian Booksellers Association.

We can be reached in Richmond:
Black Swan Books
3310 C. Rosedale Avenue
Richmond, Virginia 23230
Phone: (804) 353-9476
Open by Appointment
Email: info@blackswanbooks.com