I was struggling to find a #stampoftheday for today, wondering if I might finally have hit a dead end when I stumbled on an appropriate stamp not in my father’s US albums but instead in the two albums of UN stamps, which included an airmail stamp and air mail postcard both released on May 27, 1957. It turns out his collection also included the press releases announcing the issuance of new stamps, such as the May 1957 airmail stamps.

Why would the UN need to have its own postage stamps? In fact, the UN which was formed in 1945, initially used U.S. postage for its mail. But In 1948, Jose Arce, a member of Argentina’s UN delegation who was an avid stamp collector, was elected president of the General Assembly. He moved to create the U.N. Postal Administration which in 1951 issued its first stamps, denominated in US dollars,.

Arce had three main reasons for pushing for UN stamps, which were valid only for mail sent from the UN’s New York headquarters. First, he believed that giving the UN the ability to issue authentic postage stamps would give it more authority and credibility (since before that time only countries could issue stamps). Second, he thought the stamp would be an excellent source of revenue. Third, Arce wanted the stamps to be ambassadors to the world – spreading the U.N.’s messages, philosophies, and missions.

In 1969, the Geneva branch of the United Nations Postal Administration was opened at the Palais des Nations and began issuing stamps denominated in Swiss francs. Ten years later, the Vienna headquarters began issuing U.N. stamps denominated in Austrian schillings. And treaties between the agency and the three nations guarantee that the U.N. Post Office classes and postage correspond to those at any United States, Swiss, or Austrian post office.

Collectors all over the world responded to the UN’s new stamp offerings, particularly, it seems, in the 1950s and early 1960s when stamp collecting was booming. As the U.N. reported, “Stamp collectors are the main counterparts of these roving messengers. Collectors are the people most attuned to seeing the messages in stamp designs. They play an essential role in giving them an extended life, an audience wider than the recipient of an individual letter. Collectors’ continued interest provides the audience for United Nations stamps, and for many commemorative stamps issued each year by national postal authorities publicizing the U.N.’s work.” Reading this now, I wonder if the boon in UN stamps was also linked to the fact that while it always had its critics, the UN probably was seen more favorably by many people in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Stay safe and be well!