BERLIN: A rare sheet of 10 stamps depicting Audrey Hepburn fetched ($606,000) at a charity auction in Berlin, two-thirds of which will go to help educate children in sub-Saharan Africa. The mint-condition sheet of 10 stamps featuring Hepburn, a coy smile on her face and a long, black cigarette holder dangling from her lips, brought a profitable outcome to a botched stamp series that should have been destroyed years ago – and evokes Hepburn's starring role in the 1963 thriller “Charade,” in which the characters chase a set of rare stamps. Sean Ferrer, 50, Hepburn's son with actor and director Mel Ferrer, and the chair of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, said he was thrilled that the sale Saturday brought “focus on children in need,” but wished the stamps had sold for a higher price. Two-thirds of money raised will go to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, and one-third to UNICEF Germany. The sale brings a profitable outcome to a botched stamp series that should have been destroyed years ago – and evokes Hepburn's starring role in the 1963 thriller “Charade,” in which the characters chase a set of rare stamps. 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, 50, Hepburn's son and the chair of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, contacted to grant copyright – but he refused, arguing that the image had been altered. “In the original photo, she's got sunglasses hanging from her mouth, but they had flipped the negative and replaced the glasses with the cigarette holder,” he told The Associated Press. Ferrer suggested using either the original photo or an alternative, but the postal service ended up scrapping the stamp and ordering those produced destroyed.
