A passport with a visa that you will NOT see today
US special passport with Iranian visa 1956.
Passport collecting has its surprising moments. Each item is unique; each item is special in its own way, something like a child: they are all special and we admire and love each new item that we “bring” into the family, into the collection. Everyone has its special place and we, as passionate collectors, attach great importance to each one of them and also get emotionally close to them as well. That may sound funny or even strange to others, but collecting is also basically emotional and that is also one of the reasons that drive us in the pursuit for the next item.
The passport in this article is special. It is something that one does not expect to find today, due to the political climate that surrounds the playing parties involved.
1953 issued United Sates special passport. These items, though not that rare, are attractive and desirable among collectors of diplomatic related travel documents and those who are fond of US passports especially.
It was issued to state department clerk named Jared Jones from Pennsylvania, born on August 11th, 1927 for the purpose of traveling to Nicosia, Cyprus, to serve at the United Sates consulate. Special passport number 8148 was issued at Washington on May 26th 1953, and the visa for Cyprus was obtained at the British embassy on May 28th, and arriving to Nicosia on June 9th.
Besides travelling to Lebanon in 1953, the other interesting addition to this passport is the east Jerusalem visa for Lebanon, indicating that he traveled to Jordanian occupied West Bank BUT not to Israel: any Israeli visa inside the passport would have cancelled and made void any possible travel to neighboring Arab states.
Jared Jones passport is special, because of the next posting in his Foreign Service career, several years later. He returns back to the US on July 22nd 1956, and then has the passport amended to include the endorsement to travel, officially, to Iran: State Department August 4th 1956 indication that the holder is “…A CLERK IN THE CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT TABRIZ, IRAN“. It was signed personally by the new director of the passport office Frances G. Knight, who replaced Ruth Bielaski Shipley, who was chief passport department for about 27 years from 1928 to 1955.
Up to 1979, the US and Iranian relations were fertile and very active. Cooperation was in many spheres, be it civilian and military. The same we can even say with regards to Israel, though the diplomatic interests of Iran in Israel were handled by the Swiss embassy.
Inside we can find a lovely Imperial Embassy of Iran special visa from Washington, surely a passport with a visa that you will NOT see today.
Something that is clearly not possible in today’s political climate.
Thank you for reading “Our Passports”.
