A relic from the Apartheid era in South Africa. Managed to buy this passbook from a seller in Johannesburg.

Cara Muntu, a Zulu woman carried this pass from at least from 1968 to 1988. She would be required to present this document to any police who asked to see it. The stamp on the third page indicates she was permitted to be in the town of Springs, South Africa, near Johannesburg. She held several jobs. One at the Telephone Manufacturers of South Africa, at other times, she operated a stand. The page for a permanent address is blank. On page 15, the section ‘personal particulars’ there is a profile of her spouse.

For an informative text to accompany this set, please see Christopher Wren’s December 22, 1990 article from the New York Times titled ‘Pietermaritzburg Journal’. Please see as well installment The Bottom Line from the PBS series ‘Have You Heard From Johannesburg’.

I preserve it here for you to see. Please, use respect when presenting or relinking this item. This relic is presented here with the technical assistance of the Photographic Center Northwest. in Seattle, WA