Königreich Hannover. Alle Civil= und Militär=Behörden werden geziemend ersucht… Internal passport issued for “the widow of the Jewish trader Hesekiel, Marianne Hirson.”

Good for one year, a fascinating travel document for a Jewish widow (originally from Labeschen in Posen) traveling along with her two children and permitting her to trade unhampered, selling haberdashery and Judaica articles (“jüdischen 10 Geboten”). Issued in Dannenberg, Kingdom of Hanover (today Lower Saxony) on September 23rd, 1837, for presentation by the bearer to all civil and military authorities. “The holder of the passport is to be protected when necessary as long as she can prove she has sufficient funds for the journey.” Border stamps indicate am itinerary from Dannenberg to Winsen-an-der-Luhe and beyond, via Lüneburg. All locations between Hannover and Hamburg, within a radius of some fifty miles from Dannenberg. The woman’s personal characteristics are noted: “Age 43; height 5 feet 1 inch; hair dark brown; eyes brown; teeth damaged; face color healthy; speaks German with a Jewish dialect; unable to sign.”