ORIGINAL ITALIAN PASSPORT FROM 1832 by [passport]

Manuscript booklet signed, in Italian and French. Issued in February, 1832. 20pp., (151 x 105mm). Written in at least 40 varying hands, with signatures of passport control officials, with stamps and seals from several European countries and city-states, including Bologna, Ferrara, Venice, Verona, Ginevra, Sesto, Geneva, Ville de Havre, Valenciennes, Danvers, and Rotterdam; remnant of unsigned red wax seal on p. 18; (lightly worn, some stamps fading). Scarce and interesting piece of European travel ephemera with all authentic stamps intact. The rapid expansion of rail travel in Europe from the mid-19th century led to a breakdown of the European passport system of the early part of the 19th century. The speed of trains, as well as the numbers of passengers that crossed many borders, made enforcement of passport laws difficult. The general reaction was the relaxation of passport requirements to which little was recorded, hence an unspecified passport, like this copy, was not uncommon.