BERLIN — A rare sheet of 10 stamps depicting Audrey Hepburn fetched $606,000 at a charity auction in Berlin on Saturday, two-thirds of which will go to help educate children in sub-Saharan Africa.
The mint-condition sheet of 10 stamps features Hepburn with a coy smile and a long, black cigarette holder dangling from her lips.
Sean Ferrer, 50, Hepburn’s son with actor and director Mel Ferrer, and the chairman of the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund, said he was thrilled that the sale brought “focus on children in need” but wished the stamps had sold for a higher price.
The German postal service printed 14 million of the Hepburn stamps in 2001 showing the Belgian-born actress in her most famous role as the ebullient Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Only after the stamps were printed was Sean Ferrer contacted to grant copyright. He refused, arguing that the image had been altered. The postal service destroyed the stamps, but a few sets survived. The Associated Press
