US Early Passport With Russian Stamps

Here's an item that probably has an interesting history. It's a US passport from 1891 - they were much larger then! The first scan shows it being held up against a window to highlight the huge watermark on the paper. I'd be very interested in knowing what kind of value such a document would have.





The top of one half of the doc:




The bottom half of that side, signed by Sec'y of State James G. Blaine:




The Russian stamps - ID's welcome!:

Here's a closer look at the Russian stamps:

That document is incredible! Congratulations on your acquisition.
Don't have an answer on the stamps, I'm afraid, but I'm wondering about the watermark.
I notice the eagle looking toward the olive branches. I've heard that there are two versions of the US emblem, - when the eagle looks toward the olive branches, it is a time of peace. When he looks toward the arrows, the US is at war.
Is this true? I've asked this question on the forum before, but don't think I got an answer.

That's interesting, James, about the Eagle. I'd like to know the answer about which way he faces as well! One of the nice things about being the family historian is having family members hand over the odds and ends - this passport came from one of my cousins whose grandfather was an avid collector of family stuff like this.

Very nice item!

The stamps are inscribed "Moscow City Government" (3 kopecks green) and "St Petersburg City Government" (15 kopecks orange and 5 kopecks blue).

They're listed in Barefoot as Police Pass or Police revenues. I believe they were used for residence permit charges.

Thanks, Nigel! The more I find out about this item, the more interesting young Julia Bonsall, the bearer, becomes. It would be interesting to know how long she stayed in Russia. It sounds like it was much more involved to visit then than it would be now. Time to brush up on my history for that part of the world!

I know, from my family history research that she was born in 1866, so she was 25 when she traveled to Russia. In 1896, she married Charles Tatman McFarland, had two sons soon after and died in 1900. It was her elder son David who was the historian whose daughter handed this over to me.

-Mary

MBriggy
Thanks for showing. I'm very impressed. These documents gains value when you have reliable infos about the owner. And you do.

nigelc
Great infos about the stamps