When do YOU start collecting beautiful old passports?

This article offers a deeper look into the world of historical travel documents.

I’m Tom Topol, a researcher and collector of vintage passports. What exactly is a passport collector? Someone who seeks out historical travel documents – passports that tell stories from another time. My journey began at a flea market in Kyoto, Japan, where I stumbled upon a few intriguing examples. Since then, I’ve explored many markets in search of these artifacts. Today, my archive holds more than 700 passports.

I was a member of the Ephemera Society in both the U.K. and the U.S. Over time, I’ve become a recognized authority on passport history. I’ve written several publications, often for the security printing industry, and I advise collectors, museums, foundations, and media on the subject. My work also includes reporting on modern passport and visa developments, border control, and document security.

My main interest lies in German passports. But the upheavals of war, shifting borders, and changing governments have left behind travel documents from places that either no longer exist or have changed names. Each piece reflects a moment in a world that never stands still.

One of my favorite items is a passport from the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, issued in 1916. It includes a photo of a young woman posing with her dog, revealing how relaxed the rules around passport photos once were. As I explain on my website, photo requirements in Germany were introduced in 1915, and nearly any image that fit the space could be used.

Fast-forward 43 years, and a passport from East Germany issued in Berlin shows a stricter organization. The passport featured in the slideshow was issued to a dancer who traveled quite frequently. One of her trips was to Iraq, which was unusual in 1959.

Another interesting travel document was a passport from the Free State of Fiume, an 11-square mile Italian territory between 1920 and 1924. The area was renamed Rijeka after World War II and is located in what is now Croatia.

Old passports are ‘artworks,’ as I describe them. Why? Because no passport looks the same at that time, as they were issued manually and not automatically like today. Back then, you had beautiful hand-writing, colorful border stamps, and the passport picture was always a highlight”. “Today, you are not even allowed to smile in your picture. In the U.S., you are now not even allowed to wear your eyeglasses.”

Studying passports for 20+ years has given me a sense of if the document’s bearer was someone special. The type of passport, family name, and stamps all give the collector clues whether I should begin digging deeper to find an interesting story. The huge passport from 1915, for example, belonged to a German ambassador in former Constantinople, Count Hans von Wangenheim.

The photograph alone is the size of a postcard. Wangenheim witnessed the Armenian Genocide and passed away days after returning to Constantinople with exactly this passport. I also own passports issued to Elton John, Robin Williams, Glenn Ford, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and British Secretary of State Arthur Henderson. Henderson’s passport had a stamp from Sweden when he traveled to Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize.

 

As you can see, passport collecting is a broad topic. If you want to start your own collection, then I can support you. My strict advice is to always “Collect QUALITY not quantity.” No matter what you collect, a collection is always also an investment, and you would like to gain value with your collection over time – not lose value.

“Define a collection focus.” This is essential as; otherwise you get lost in buying everything, and that costs money. Educate yourself on the things you collect. Knowledge is as important as a precious collectible itself. Check your local flea market, garage sale, etc. Online auction platforms are a great source. Please explore my website as you will find astonishing stories and great collectibles. See these old passports by yourself, and you will understand why I am so passionate about old travel documents.

 

“Tom’s website, Passport-collector.com, is a goldmine of information on historic and important travel documents.” – Business Insider UK  –

 

 Drop me a line if you have further questions.

 

Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
Featured in media incl. CNN, BBC, Newsweek. Awarded by the U.S. Department of State.
"Want to go deeper? My book Let Pass or Die covers the full 400-year history"

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