About 

For the past 28 years, James L. Kochan has been a specialist dealer in important early Americana, notably that relating to early exploration, military and maritime history of the 18th and early 19th centuries. including painting and drawings, artifacts, manuscripts, rare books and ephemera.  Now retired from active dealing, he divides his time between historical research/writing projects, serving as agent and consultant to institutional clients and private collectors, and running the nonprofit Mars & Neptune Trust--of which he is the Founding President and CEO.  He  is a Fellow of The Company of Military Historians and serves on its board as the Vice President of Publications, and is a strong supporter and advocate for other museums, libraries and charitable organizations.

Prior to founding his firm in 1998, James Kochan was director of museum collections at Mount Vernon, during which he organized the blockbuster travelling exhibition, George Washington Revealed: Treasures from Mount Vernon.  He spent nearly two decades as a museum director and curator, including eight years as supervisory curator at Morristown National Historical Park. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his curatorial and historical work, including the Anne S. K. Brown Military History Fellowship at Brown University, the Award of Merit from the American Assoc. for State and Local History, a Museum Fellowship from the British Council, the Collecting Works on Paper Award from Historic New England and is currently a research fellow at The National Society of the Cincinnati.  

Kochan is the author or co-author of eight books, including Insignia of Independence, Soldiers of the American Revolution, The United States Army, 1785-1815 (2 vols.), Hessian Papers of the American Revolution, and Free Trade & Sailors’ Rights, as well as more than 100 published articles or research reports on various facets of early American history, art, and material culture.  He is considered a leading expert on American and British military and marine artwork and material culture, 1700-1850. In addition to his career in the fine art and antiques trade, he continues to serve as a consultant to various museums and historic sites, in addition to the film/media industry. Past projects have included working as primary historical advisor to A&E Television’s The American Revolution (1994) and other PBS and History Channel documentaries; participating as an expert appraiser for The Antiques Roadshow, and serving as the principal historical consultant and technical advisor for costume, props and set dressing on Peter Weir’s film adaptation of the Patrick O’Brien novels, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.​