Recognition

“Since 2010, Passport-Collector.com has been cited, consulted, and referenced by institutions across more than 20 countries — spanning independent media, government bodies, museums, academic publications, film productions, and law enforcement agencies. Tom Topol’s research and archive have contributed to permanent museum collections on four continents, supported film and television productions in Europe and North America, and been entered into official European Commission and U.S. Department of State documentation. This page is a record of that work.”

I. Government & Institutional Citations

  1. United States Department of State. Consular history contribution (From Pirates to Passports) and award.
  2. European Commission. Official documentation referencing Passport-Collector.com article on passport fees.

II. Independent Media Publications

  1. Newsweek. Kim, Soo. “Map Shows States Where Residents Are Least Likely to Own Passports.” 
  2. CNN Travel. “The Shadowy World of Camouflage Passports.”
  3. Robb Report. “These Are the Rarest, Weirdest Passport Stamps in the World.”
  4. Herald-Tribune. Interview on global passport standards.
  5. Berliner Kurier.  DDR-Geschichte: Sammler zahlen viel Geld für alte Reisepässe.
  6. Bab Masr (EG). Interview on the auction of President Sadat’s passport.
  7. BBC News Mundo. “Las fascinantes historias detrás de los pasaportes antiguos y modernos”.
  8. Business Insider. Clark, Charles. “This Is the Oldest British Passport in Existence.” 
  9. Deseret News on “Interview on passports”.
  10. Venezuelan websites refer to my global passport fees article.
    Passport fees, passport fees, and passport fees.
  11. German View Magazine. Interview.
  12. The Guardian. Tintin’s world adventure: comic strip hero joins the Smurfs on a new Belgian passport
  13. Gizmodo.com (USA). Article / Interview on passport security
  14. Skynews.ch. Article about Swiss aviation pioneer Ernst Nyffenegger & his passport.
  15. Business Insider (UK). “Here’s what it’s like inside a North Korean passport — one of the world’s rarest travel documents.”
  16. Conde Nast Traveler (USA). “This Is What a North Korean Passport Looks Like.”
  17. Nine.com (AU). Carrie Fisher’s well-loved 1983 passport goes up for auction
  18. Refinery Magazine (USA). “Carrie Fisher’s Vintage Passport,” including an interview with me.
  19. Conde Nast Traveler (USA). “A Look Inside Carrie Fisher’s Passport,” including an interview with me.
  20. Atlas Obscura (USA). Six Stories of Stunning Passports From Countries That No Longer Exist
  21. Protagon Magazine (GR). Εξι εκπληκτικά διαβατήρια από χώρες που δεν υπάρχουν πια
    (Six stunning passports from countries that no longer exist)
  22. Public Radio International-PRI (USA). Radio Interview – Every passport tells a story
  23. SAfm – South African Radio. Radio Interview – The Lifestyle Show with Michelle Constant – Passport History & Collecting
  24. Dailymail.com (UK). From Stalin’s Soviet Union to East Germany & British Palestine: The extraordinary historical passports to countries that no longer exist
  25. Mediacorp (SIN). Assistance for the national broadcaster for the kid’s game show “Museum Mysteries – The Mystery Of The Passport.”

III. Academic & Industry Publications

  1. Keesing Technologies (NL). Global Passport Fees in 2026.
  2. Antique Trader Magazine. http://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques/take-tour-historical-passport-collecting/
  3. Smithsonian Magazine. Belgium’s New Passport Spotlights Classic Comic Characters.
  4. Ephemera Society. https://www.passport-collector.com/wp-content/uploads/Ephemera-Journal-USA-Sep-2024.pdf.
  5. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (one of the world’s leading international law journals).
    A critical assessment of the Government of Israel’s memorandum to the ICC – Part I refers to my article on the All-Palestine
  6. International Border Management & Technologies Association.
    https://www.ibmata.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BMT_Issue11.pdf.
  7. Security Document World. “Passports Now and Then.”
    https://www.passport-collector.com/wp-content/uploads/IS-67-final-test-for-Tom-Topol.pdf.
  8. Keesing Technologies (NL). Article about passport collecting & passport history
  9. Keesing Technologies (NL). Sorting machines of globalization – the redefinition of the border.
  10. Calcalyst (IL). Interview on current passport design & passport history
  11. “Krueger on United States Passport Law.” I am delighted to have my book, “Let Pass Or Die,” titled. As well as some of my other articles referenced in the book by the esteemed lawyer and author Stephen Krueger.

IV. Museum & Archival Institutions

  1. Bavarian State Library. Correspondence on a passport photo for a book project about Bavarian literature.
  2. Canadian Museum of Human Rights. The museum got three important documents from me. A Nansen passport and two German passports of Jews with the infamous J-stamp.
  3. Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Correspondence on passport pictures for an exhibition.
  4. Fenix Emigrant Museum. The museum acquired a NANSEN passport from my collection for their museum’s exhibition.
  5. International African American Museum. Another passport of my collection went into a museum.
  6. MacArthur Memorial. https://www.passport-collector.com/field-marshal-douglas-macarthurs-passport/
  7. Memorial de la Shoah. Archival reference. Correspondence on Schutz-Passes (Protection passes during the Holocaust).
  8. National Archives and Records Administration. Correspondence on a research project on consular passports issued during WWII in Europe.
  9. National Museum of Scotland. https://www.passport-collector.com/scottish-passport-national-museum-scotland/
  10. University of Western Sydney Library. Evaluation of the University’s passport collection.

V. Documented Research Correspondence

  1. U.S. Department of State (USA). Research assistance with a specific US passport issued by an outstanding consul.
  2. American Civil Liberties Union. Consultation on the effects of U.S. changes on gender related passport processing.
  3. THE EXPERTISE CENTER FOR IDENTITY FRAUD AND DOCUMENTS (ECID) OF THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS MARECHAUSSEE.
    The newsletter mainly contains confidential information and is there for members of governmental/law enforcement agencies.
  4. Ellis Island Museum of Immigration. Licensing correspondence.
  5. Goodrum House / Buckhead Heritage Society. Correspondence on “decrypting” Goodrum’s passport content.
  6. Holocaust Foundations USA/JP. Assistance in acquiring specific Holocaust material – passport related.
  7. Identity Week. Video interview on passport history and article on the future of the passport.
  8. Japanese National Public Broadcaster. Consultation on a (passport) story on Fritz Bauer.
  9. Dutch Embassy in Japan. Correspondence on documents for a Sugihara exhibition.
  10. Rushan Heritage Trust. Correspondence on WWII Women’s Internment in the Isle of Man in Port Erin and Port St Mary.
  11. Vacheron Constantin, oldest watch manufacturer globally, publisher of COLLECTOR’S ISLAND (annual/limited art book) portraying only ten carefully selected collectors each year worldwide. I was one of 80 in total.
  12. Yaotsu Town Hall Office. Correspondence on the UNESCO Memory of the World Project , Chiune Sugihara Memorial Museum
  13. Salzburg Festival (AT). Correspondence with the property master with several passports for Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors.”
  14. THE SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST (STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, U.K.). Correspondence on identifying a 1610-issued document as safe conduct for Sir Thomas Puckering. One of the earliest British passports in existence.
  15. ZAHRA MACKAOUI, BRITISH LEBANESE JOURNALIST & DOCUMENTARY MAKER (LONDON, U.K.).
    Correspondence on a UNHCR Nansen project

VI. Film & Media Production Consultation

  1. Cortina Productions. Correspondence about old passport stamps for the RICHARD NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM
  2. Eran Riklis. Correspondence about an Iranian passport for a movie prop for his upcoming film.
  3. Exchange Movie Canada Inc. Correspondence on a passport for the current production, “The Exchange.”
  4. Siren Film. Film production – consulting the art department on documents used during the “Kindertransport” (WWII).
  5. Talpa Germany Fiction Film Production. Correspondence on a passport for a film production.
  6. X Filme Creative Pool. Support for historical passport materials for Babylon Berlin Season 5, with prior support for S 3+4.
  7. Kaufman Astoria Studios. Correspondence with the property master in recreating a historical passport.
  8. Ufafiction (DE). German award-winning film and television Company and a unique leader in the German film and television market Assistance with several passports for an upcoming production for German TV ZDF.
  9. Videotrom (CA). Cable T.V. company – consulting their prop master on travel documents.
  10. BBC Daily Politics (UK). Invitation for an on-air interview on passport history about the new British passport design.
  11. Bavaria Fiction (DE). Correspondence for a passport prop for the TV crime series SOKO Stuttgart