I believe this is the passport of the time. Photos were not attached to USA passports until 1918, they had the description on the side. I found a description that matched it exactly...even told how many times it was folded. Evidently it originally came with a cardboard cover or envelope to protect it.
Good story about your experience. I found UK passports of the time were the same & had very similar wording. Sally On 9/24/2015 6:01 PM, Stan wrote: > Does the letter need to have a name other than an authority letter? > > Some years ago I was travelling overseas for a few days to a country > that most would consider to be a somewhat dictatorial 3rd world > destination to take part in a Government sponsored conference, English > was one of two official languages When attempting to check in in on the > final leg of the journey I was refused on the basis that my passport > (with appropriate Visa for the country issued just a week before) > expired in 5 months and 28 days time and the new law there said I > needed a passport with 6 months validity on it still before entry was > permitted. No amount of telephone persuation would budge the > Immigration officials at the country to relent before the plane departed > and I returned to the hotel to ring the Conference organiser and advise > that I would not be speaking at the conference the next morning. > > Within an hour I had a very very similarly worded letter faxed to me. It > included the following words verbatim "To all to whom these presents > shall come, Greetings: I, the undersigned, Minister of Immigration for > XXX do hereby request all whom it may concern to permit .. " > > I had not realised that there was clearly a standard international > wording therefore for such an authority letter until I saw your post > below. The only significant wording change was > a) in describing me as a NZ citizen it referenced my NZ Passport number > and > b) in my case it stated "'... safely and freely to pass and in case of > need to give him SOME Aid and Protection..." Instead of "ALL LAWFUL" > Aid and protection..". Clearly they still didnt want io make it too > easy for me , just enough to get there and maybe it didnt have to be > lawful. :-) It was sufficient to ensure I was speaking at the > conference the next morning > > In my case the authority letter was an adjunct to my passport whereas > in your quoted case it appears to be in lieu of a passport where that > could not be issued in time. Unless it included a photograph I would not > class it as a Passport though. > > cheers Stan > > > ------ Original Message ------ > From: "Jenny M Benson"<[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: 25/09/2015 10:19:03 a.m. > Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] What is this source? > >> On 24/09/2015 21:02, Heeren wrote: >>> I have an original document from 1913, given by the USA Department of >>> State, that is 11.5" X 17". >>> >>> It says: >>> >>> United State of America Department of State >>> >>> To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: >>> >>> I, the undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States of >>> America >>> do hereby request all whom it may concern to permit _Hugo Kreitzberg_ >>> a >>> Citizen of the United States safely and freely to pass and in case of >>> need to give _him_ all lawful Aid and Protection. >>> >>> It then goes on the give the date& the signature of the Secretary of >>> State as well as a description of Hugo Kreitzberg, the number of the >>> form (10701) and the message at the top that it is good for two years >>> from date given. >>> >>> There is an official seal impressed on it. >>> >>> But...nowhere does it say what this form is...I have searched for >>> "visa", "safe passage", "travel document" using the date, the form >>> number and anything else I can think of...what is this form called? >>> >>> He applied for a passport on the same day. >>> >>> Has anyone come across one of these before& if so, how did you >>> source it? >>> >> Sounds like a Passport to me. >> >> >> -- >> Jenny M Benson >> >> >> >> >> Legacy User Group guidelines: >> >> http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp >> >> Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: >> >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> >> Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: >> >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> >> Online technical support: http://support.legacyfamilytree.com >> >> Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) >> and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). >> >> To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp >> > > > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: > > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Online technical support: http://support.legacyfamilytree.com > > Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on > our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). > > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://support.legacyfamilytree.com Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). 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