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 Artist's Drawing-Paul Flora: UN 1989 Vienna Office Anniversary set (Scott #552-3) Approved Artist's Drawing for 25c Design; by Paul Flora [Austria]. Crayon and ink on artpaper, mounted on card, 265x355mm, matted. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163432_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing by Rudolf Hausner: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for 90c Design; by Rudolf Hausner [Austria]. Photograph and collage mounted on artboard, 210x288mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163433_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing by Anton Lehmdeen: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Geneva 50c Design; by Anton Lehmdeen [Austria]. Acrylic and watercolor on acetate and art paper, mounted on artboard, 270x352mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163434_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing by Arik Brauer: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Geneva 2fr Design; by Arik Brauer [Austria]. Acrylic and collage on artboard, 215x288mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163435_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)





![UN Approved Drawing by Gottfried Kumpf: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Vienna 5s Design; by Gottfried Kumpf [Austria]. Acrylic on art paper, 266x360mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163441_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)
![UN Approved Drawing by Andre Heller: UN Approved Artist's Drawing for Vienna 7.50s Design; by Andre Heller [Austria]. Collage on tracing paper and card, 187x234mm. Unique.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/220/337/163442_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1068151527)


