A nice set of two Dutch East-Indies passports

Dutch East-Indies passports

Randomly I came into possession of a nice Dutch East Indies (EI) passport set, consisting of two huge passports issued in Batavia and a standard Dutch passport for three children born in Batavia. The first time I have seen such documents was when I met up with my fellow collector Theo in Amsterdam last spring. Theo has an extensive collection of Dutch passports, including the East Indies. It was a joy to see a part of his collection and to listen to his explanations. He is indeed a competence when it comes to Dutch passports. Theo also did some research on the names and found the following. Dutch East-Indies passports

It looks like the Dutch East Indies passport was only used to travel with the family to the Netherlands. The route followed is the most common one, with several stops on the way. Five guilders was the passport fee for a passport with two or more persons. The annual extensions were done in NL, passport fee one guilder. These EI passports were also valid as NL passports, therefore the NL extensions. And not a new NL passport issued. Dutch East-Indies passports

The Netherlands passport was issued to the children only (oldest kid, accompanied by younger brother and sister). This way, they could all travel with either parent. It’s a passport-type that was used for less than one year only.

The family Hondius van Herwerden lived in Amsterdam and The Hague (Voorburg) area, where he passed away in 1943. By then, Theodora, one of the children, already passed away in 1936 (T.C.F.), because only two are mentioned in the newspaper announcement. (A.M.T. and P.F.) and Anna (A.M.T) passed away just a few months after her father in 1943 (given the sources mentioned below, I would have to look further for more detailed info). I don’t know what also happened with this family or what his profession was.

The Dutch East-Indies passports are the largest booklets I’ve ever seen and measures 13,5 x 21,5 cm (closed)