These two Definitive stamps were issued by the UN Postal Department to commemorate the two of the symbols at the League of Nations HQ in Geneva. The stamp affixed to the left on the FDC is the Celestial Sphere . The grounds of the Palais des Nations (seat of the United Nations Office at Geneva) contain many fine objects donated by Member States, private sponsors and artists. The Celestial Sphere (also known as the Armillary sphere) in the Ariana Park of the Palais des Nations is the best-known of these. The huge - over four meter diameter - Celestial Sphere is the chef d'oeuvre of the American sculptor Paul Manship (1885–1966). It was donated in 1939 by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation to what was then the League of Nations building. Known also as the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Sphere of the Palais des Nations it is today a symbol of Geneva International and of Geneva as the centre of dialogue and peace. Today the Celestial Sphere stands in the Court d’Honneur of the Palais des Nations, itself an important landmark of the City of Geneva. It serves as a vivid reminder that despite all cultural and religious differences we are inhabitants of one and the same planet of the galaxy, the earth. The time has come to think in terms of Pax Universalis rather than of other Paxes, and one of the contributors to a Pax Universalis is an action-oriented dialogue, based on common human values and the ideals of the United Nations.
The stamp on the right is Georges Matheiu’s art work about Geneva Symbolism. Thank you Merja for this nice FDC issued on 30.1.1987.
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