About Cowans

Contact / Locations
Cincinnati, OH 513-871-1670 [Link to map]
Cleveland, OH 216-292-8300 [Link to map]
Denver, OH 803-426-9267 803-4-COWAN’S)
Orange, CA (Whose number?) [Link to map]

Team
[Pictures, titles, links to email]

History
In 1977, after receiving his BA and MA in Anthropology from the University of Kentucky, Wes Cowan headed north, to the University of Michigan, to pursue his PhD. He vividly remembers, “it started snowing in November and I didn’t see the ground until April.”

Once it thawed, Wes took respite from the grind of school by driving the back roads of southeastern Michigan, stopping at the many antique stores of the day. A collector since early childhood, he began collecting the only thing he could afford: photographs of 19^th century America, [link to 2015 stereoview auction].

Degree in hand, Wes joined the faculty of the Ohio State University, where he taught archaeology, continued his fieldwork and wrote about the origins of agriculture in eastern North America. In 1984, he joined the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History as Curator of Archaeology. [Link to Wes publication list]

Along the way, he kept building his knowledge of early photography and the history it captured. In his spare time, Wes was soon buying, selling and trading with collectors the world over. By the early 90s, he was holding mail and phone ‘auctions’ (last bidder wins) from a makeshift office in the garage. In 1995 he left the museum, became a licensed auctioneer and launched Cowan’s Auctions – still from the garage.

Selling early photographs, historical manuscripts, maps and political ephemera, Wes quickly built a reputation as an expert who brought a new level of scholarship and honesty to the arena. Over the next few years the business grew rapidly as he added specialists with expertise in American Indian Art, Furniture, Paintings and Decorative art, Jewelry, Antique Firearms and 20th century studio ceramics.

Today, Cowan’s has offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver, with annual sales exceeding $16M. We reach buyers around the globe, and take pride in our reputation for integrity, customer service and great results.

Cowan’s Auctions has disrupted the marketplace from the start. We were among the earliest auction houses to launch a website and one of the first to sell online. In 2014, Cowan’s, along with 5 of our competitors, launched bidsquare.com, on online bidding platform where auction houses are vetted to ensure honesty and quality.