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 C. Magadini: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Geneva 80c Design; by Christopher Magadini [USA]. Acrylic on acetate and artboard, 288x340mm. With Printer's Model of design. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163349_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing - George Fernandez: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Geneva 90c Design; by George Fernandez [USA]. Acrylic on acetate and artboard, 316x292mm. With Printer's Model of design. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163350_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing by C. Magadini: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Vienna 6s Design; by Christopher Magadini [USA]. Acrylic on acetate and artboard, 316x292mm. With Printer's Model of design. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163351_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing by George Fernandez: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Vienna 7.50s Design; by George Fernandez [USA]. Acrylic on acetate and artboard, 288x340mm. With Printer's Model of design. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163352_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)


![UN Approved Drawing by Leroy Neiman: UN 1988 Health in Sports set (Scott #526-7) Approved Artist's Drawing for 25c Design; by Leroy Neiman [USA]. Photographic collage on acetate and artboard, 254x318mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163355_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing by Leroy Neiman: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for 38c Design; by Leroy Neiman [USA]. Photographic collage on acetate and artboard, 318x254mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163356_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)



![UN Approved Drawing by Leroy Neiman: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Geneva 50c Design; by Leroy Neiman [USA]. Photographic collage on acetate and artboard, 256x317mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163360_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)



![UN Approved Drawing by Leroy Neiman: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Vienna 6s Design; by Leroy Neiman [USA]. Photographic collage on acetate and artboard, 254x317mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163364_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)








