history passport travel documents
Here you will find travel documents related to passport history from several countries around the world and in different formats. We discuss historical people, ordinary people, celebrities, heroes, and criminals. You will be surprised by the beautiful passport picture of a young Japanese woman in her Kimono during the time of the Japanese Empire and some remarkable passports from countries which are no longer exist.
These pages contain insights on selected and rare examples of passports from the past, along with fantastic stories and astonishing passport pictures. Furthermore, you will obtain insight into the value of old passports, including the most highly valued passport ever sold.
Tom Topol is a recognized expert and author on passports and their history in the security printing industry and has studied the topic for more than 15 years. Tom is a member of both the Ephemera Society of America and the Ephemera Society of the United Kingdom.
His book LET PASS OR DIE is an educational and entertaining BOOK about the HISTORY of the PASSPORT. 353 pages with fascinating stories, including 183 astonishing pictures that are impossible to use today in your passport – well, almost.
The book can be ordered at passport-collector.com at EUR 49, global standard shipping included.
Some readers’ feedback…
Your book definitely tells a lot about the history of passports and I applaud you for the effort that you put into writing the book. (Benjamin Durham, CH)
Tom, I received LET PASS OR DIE today. I’m pleased you invested in good printing, as the images are excellent. I’m looking forward to reading it and passing on purchase details to ex-colleagues from the UK Immigration National Document Fraud Unit. (S.A., UK)
Nowadays, we see the frequent use of the wording “rare” and “very rare” just as an eyecatcher. I believe I use this wording carefully. Its use is definitely justified for this extraordinary Holy See passport issued in 1964 for the…
It is always a joy to get reader-emails, especially when they include pictures of unusual passports. Here comes such a document from a British gentleman who wanted to have an expert opinion on one of the Liverpool football players’ passports….
As a collector of German travel documents, it is not always easy to read a passport’s handwriting, especially when you have documents before the 19th century. Well, I guess said is valid also for other collectors and their collection area….
Mario Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano (12 August 1903 – 9 November 1988) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Apostolic Palace from 1967 until his death and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. Vatican City passport…
Francis James Jackson (December 1770 – 5 August 1814) was a British diplomat, ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Prussia, and the United States. He entered the diplomatic service only at age 16 as a foreign service clerk! In April 1788, he brought back from The…
The following passport of Bremen is gripping by several aspects. First of all, the Free City of Bremen is a rare type when it comes to passport booklets. The second remark is about citizenship. The passport is from Bremen, but…
Passport Fees World 2021 Passports are a necessity in today’s global world and so are the fees someone has to pay for a travel document. In the best case, you pay this fee only every ten years, as this is…
Anyone who needs a new passport goes to the citizens’ office, applies, waits two weeks, gets the document. The old, expired passport is canceled and disposed of – it’s the end of the story. For Tom Topol, however, this is…
Wonder Woman trashed her old passport, and someone found it. GAL GADOT’S PASSPORT was found in the trash can near her Tel Aviv apartment and some handwritten notes of her movie roles. I bet whoever found WONDER WOMAN’S passport in the trash…