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 Approved Drawing by Dirk Van Gelder: UN Approved Artist's Drawing; by Dirk Van Gelder [Netherlands]. Acrylic with photographic inscriptions and `1' of `15c' pasted over, on artboard, 217x280mm. Handwritten note `Correct value 3c'](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161363_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)



![UN Photographic Essay by Jose Renau: UN 1954 International Labor Organization set (Scott #25-6) Photographic Essay for 3c Design; by Jose Renau [Mexico]. Mounted on artboard, 230x276mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161367_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Approved Drawing by Jose Renau: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for 3c Design; by Jose Renau [Mexico]. Acrylic and gouache on artboard, 224x287mm. Central design with inscriptions and UN Emblem in white. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161368_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)






![UN 1954 UN Day by artist Earl W. Purdy: UN 1954 UN Day set (Scott #27-8) Photograph of Palais des Nations; used by artist Earl W. Purdy [USA] as the basis of his stamp design. With UNPA enlarged photograph of the 8c design. Each mounted on](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161375_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Preliminary Sketch by Earl W. Purdy: UN Preliminary Sketch; by Earl W. Purdy [USA]. Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on art paper, 400x280mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161376_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Sketch by Earl W. Purdy: UN Artist's Sketch; by Earl W. Purdy [USA]. Acrylic, gouache, and pencil on artboard, 290x212mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161377_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Earl W. Purdy: UN Artist's Drawing for 3c Design; by Earl W. Purdy [USA]. Pencil and gouache on acetate and art paper, mounted on artboard, 465x376mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161378_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Earl W. Purdy: UN Artist's Drawing for 3c Design; by Earl W. Purdy [USA]. Photograph touched up with acrylic, with inscriptions and denomination in gouache on clear overlay, 280x246mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161379_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Earl W. Purdy: UN Artist's Drawing for 3c Design; by Earl W. Purdy [USA]. Acrylic, gouache, and pencil on artboard, 336x242mm. Inscription placement similar to the issued stamps. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161380_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)


![UN Preliminary Sketch -Leonard Mitchell: UN 1954 Human Rights set (Scott #29-30) Preliminary Sketches of Mother and Child; by Leonard Mitchell [New Zealand]. Pencil on artboard, 207x276mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161383_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Leonard Mitchell: UN Artist's Drawing for Proposed 5c Design; by Leonard Mitchell [New Zealand]. Acrylic and gouache on card, 209x310mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161384_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)
![Photographic Essay by Leonard Mitchell: UN Photographic Essay; of 5c Design by Leonard Mitchell [New Zealand]. With additional small design at top-right, 206x254mm.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/334/161385_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151446)

