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-Marek Freudenreich: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for 70c Design; by Marek Freudenreich [Poland]. Acrylic and collage on acetate and artboard, 230x338mm. 1969 13c stamp mounted at bottom right. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162070_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)

![UN Approved Artist's by Ole Hamann: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for 75c Design; by Ole Hamann [Denmark]. Acrylic, gouache, and collage on acetate and artboard, 258x343mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162072_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)

![UN Approved Drawing by V. Pierre-Noel: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for 80c Design; by Vergniaud Pierre-Noel [USA]. Acrylic on artboard, 280x355mm. 1965 20c stamp mounted at top left. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162074_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)




![UN Approved Drawing by Hatim El Mekki: UN 2fr Approved Artist's Drawing; by Hatim El Mekki [Tunisia]. Acrylic on artboard, 280x355mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162079_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)








![UN Artist's Drawing by Olav Mathiesen: UN 1969 Mosaic set (Scott #201-2) Artist's Drawing for Proposed 6c Design; by Olav Mathiesen [Denmark]. Photograph, acrylic, and pencil on artboard, 196x216mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162088_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Olav Mathiesen: UN Artist's Drawing for Proposed 13c Design in Horizontal Format; by Olav Mathiesen [Denmark]. Photograph, acrylic, and pencil on acetate and artboard, 270x220mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162089_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)
![UN Artist's Drawing by Olav Mathiesen: UN Artist's Drawing for Proposed 6c Design; by Olav Mathiesen [Denmark]. Acrylic, pen, and pencil on artboard, 196x226mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162090_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)
![UN Artist's Drawings by Olav Mathiesen: UN Artist's Drawing for Proposed 6c and 13c Border Designs; by Olav Mathiesen [Denmark]. Pen and collage on artboard, each 156x220mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/335/162091_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151474)
