Rare Hepburn stamps auctioned off for charity

A rare set of 10 German postal stamps depicting the actress Audrey Hepburn have fetched 430,000 euros at a charity auction in Berlin.

14 million of the stamps were printed in 2001, but copyright was only sought afterwards and her family refused. It did not want her to be shown smoking.

All but two small sets of stamps were then destroyed.

The money raised in the auction will go to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s fund and UNICEF.

Hepburn’s son Sean Ferrer said: “I think the way people remember her today is mostly because she was Audrey Hepburn the humanitarian and the movie star, not the movie star and the humanitarian, and I think we are very proud about that in the family.”

Hepburn was a UNICEF ambassador from 1988 until her death in 1993.

Other items auctioned off included a pair of Hepburn’s ballet slippers, which sold for nine thousand euros, and a portrait of the Belgian-born actress.

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