United Nations Archives Auction
This sale probably includes the highest percentage of unique items ever offered in a single auction. Of over 2,800 lots, more than 2,000 are unique. We don’t normally associate the term ‘rarity’ with United Nations philately, yet within this catalogue there are enough rarities to satisfy the tastes of any connoisseur. In addition to the unique items, the vast majority of the remaining lots in the sale exist in quantities of five or less.
Ironically, the auction does not include even one single regularly issued stamp or cover, yet it offers something else never before seen in a philatelic auction. Look through this catalogue, especially the artwork submitted by artists from more than forty nations, and you’ll get a very compelling glimpse of the world of the early postwar era, with its slow but definite emergence of a global consciousness. Here is a planet devastated by war, trying to find its voice as it seeks a badly needed fresh start. The earnest, almost desperate desire for world peace comes through in the UN art as in nowhere else.




![UN Artist's Drawing by H. Woyty-Wimmer: UN 1953 Universal Postal Union set (Scott #17-8) Artist's Drawing for Proposed 1c Design; by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer [England]. Acrylic and gouache on thin card, with overlay mat, 198x190mm. Photographic](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161340_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Approved Drawing-Hubert Woyty-Wimmer: UN Approved Artist's Drawing 5c Design; by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer [England]. Acrylic and gouache on card, mounted on UNPA display sheet, 245x207mm. Smaller design at bottom. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161341_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)



![UN Preliminary Sketches- Jean Van Noten: UN 1953 Technical Assistance set (Scott #19-20) Composite Preliminary Sketches,; seven different by Jean Van Noten [Belgium]. Gouache, watercolor and pencil on three sheets of thick paper, 175x272mm.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161345_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Woyty-Wimmer: UN Artist's Drawing for 5c Design; by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer [Britain]. Pencil on onionskin, mounted on card, 295x230mm. Similar to the issued design, but UN Emblem without Wreath, and `5c' at lower](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161346_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Woyty-Wimmer: UN Another Artist's Drawing for 5c Design; by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer [England]. Pencil and gouache on onionskin, mounted on card, 295x230mm. Closer to the issued design with Wreathed UN Emblem and `5c'](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161347_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Woyty-Wimmer: UN Artist's Drawing for 5c Design; by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer [England]. Acrylic on artboard, 320x239mm. Clear overlay sheet with `5c' and central inscriptions. Some of the overlay inscriptions rubbed](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161348_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)

![UN Preliminary Sketches - Leon Helguera: UN 1953 Human Rights Day set (Scott #21-2) Preliminary Artist Sketches; by Leon Helguera [Mexico], whose final design was used for the issued stamps. Ink on the opened-out envelope, 325x285mm.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161350_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Original Drawing by H. Woyty-Wimmer: UN Original Artist's Drawing of Outstretched Hands; by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer [Britain]. Pencil on onionskin, ranging in size up to 161x120mm. Woyty-Wimmer's depiction of the hands was used by Leon](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161351_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Original Drawings by Leon Helguera: UN Original Artist's Drawings,; four by Leon Helguera [Mexico]. All in pencil on onionskin, ranging in size up to 228x320mm. Some faults. Unique group.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161352_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Leon Helguera: UN Artist's Drawing for 5c Design; by Leon Helguera [Mexico]. Central design with UN Emblem instead of Human Rights Torch. Pencil on onionskin with Stamp-size Photographic Essay alongside. Mounted on](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161353_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Leon Helguera: UN Artist's Drawing for 3c Design; by Leon Helguera [Mexico]. Photograph touched up with acrylic and gouache, mounted on artboard, 240x330mm. Central design with Human Rights Torch, as in the issued](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161354_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Leon Helguera: UN Artist's Drawing; by Leon Helguera [Mexico]. Acrylic on artboard with clear overlay, 178x262mm. Denomination omitted, but hands less shaded and further from Human Rights Flame as in the issued](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161355_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)



![UN Artist's Drawing by Dirk Van Gelder: UN 1954 Food & Agriculture Organization set (Scott #23-4) Stamp-Size Artist's Drawing; by Dirk Van Gelder [Netherlands]. Pencil on artboard, 45x63mm. Some rust spots. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161359_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Dirk Van Gelder: UN Artist's Drawing for Proposed 5c Design; by Dirk Van Gelder [Netherlands]. Green acrylic on artboard, 212x252mm, mounted on UNPA display sheet. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161360_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Dirk Van Gelder: UN Artist's Drawing; by Dirk Van Gelder [Netherlands]. Yellow & Blue acrylic on artboard, 225x308mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161361_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN 1954 Photo Essay by Dirk Van Gelder: UN Photographic Essay; of 15c Design by Dirk Van Gelder [Netherlands]. With miniature Photographic Essay at bottom-right, 206x254mm.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161362_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
