Jump to content

Sealing Wax Seals


jbb

Recommended Posts

What's out there in the way of sealing wax seals? Where have you found nice ones? I just got the one with a waffle pattern design. Does anyone know when and why that pattern was popular?

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4858501428_d667c14d3b_b.jpg

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4857963013_a8ce56a014_b.jpg

Edited by jbb
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 71
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • jbb

    14

  • SamCapote

    7

  • Enai

    7

  • Cepasaccus

    6

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Looking good, JBB! What color is the wax you used? Looks something like sparkling burgundy in my monitor.

 

Yes, please post pictures. We can never have enough wax seal threads. :thumbup:

Edited by Enai

I keep coming back to my Esterbrooks.

 

"Things will be great when you're downtown."---Petula Clark

"I'll never fall in love again."---Dionne Warwick

"Why, oh tell me, why do people break up, oh then turn around and make up?

I just came to see, you'd never do that to me, would you baby?"---Tina Turner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking good, JBB! What color is the wax you used? Looks something like sparkling burgundy in my monitor.

 

Yes, please post pictures. We can never have enough wax seal threads. :thumbup:

Yes, the wax is a burgundy sparkle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spiffed up my sealing wax set up with a candlestick holder from a local yard sale and a candle snuffer that I've had for ages but never used much until now.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4865230514_f674033dcd_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got the one with a waffle pattern design. Does anyone know when and why that pattern was popular?

 

Yours is not a seal per se, but a pipe tamper. It is used to pack tobacco in a pipe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got the one with a waffle pattern design. Does anyone know when and why that pattern was popular?

 

Yours is not a seal per se, but a pipe tamper. It is used to pack tobacco in a pipe.

OH! Funny! Thank you for knowing that. :thumbup: How common is it for the ends to have that waffle or some other pattern? Can many pipe tampers be used as sealing wax seals?

Edited by jbb
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very, very nice, JBB!

 

I'm not sure that I agree about your new seal being a pipe tamper. The shape, style and size don't seem right — tampers would be slimmer and smaller, don't you think? I've always thought these cross-hatch seals were used as generic wax seals, usually when a business didn't have a crest or logo of its own but needed to apply a wax imprint for authenticity. I don't know if I read this somewhere at one time, or if my mind fabricated it. I welcome more information too, because I do see this pattern on seals from time to time. Maybe you're right, Chemyst, in that it isn't a wax seal; I just don't think this one is a pipe tamper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For what it's worth, I just got the waffle seal on ebay and I'm pretty sure the metal stamp part and the handle didn't originally go together because the fit was very loose and one part is threaded the other isn't. SO, the waffle part might have originally had a skinnier handle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys. Here's an interesting read:

 

http://www.antiquewritingitems.com/downloads/infodata/Wafer_seals.pdf

 

"Probably the most common reminder of wafers is the wafer seal and this cross hatched seal matrix is one of the most common seals at antique fairs. These hatched seals could also be used for sealing wax, but they are more commonly associate with wafers. The wafer seal was also frequently designed into writing equipment and it is often a surprising accessory in quill knives, pencils and conventional seals."

 

 

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Zw92qAkQFhw/TFyL_kxEsHI/AAAAAAAADP4/ZpIj6hMXHPE/s800/waferseals.png

Edited by Enai

I keep coming back to my Esterbrooks.

 

"Things will be great when you're downtown."---Petula Clark

"I'll never fall in love again."---Dionne Warwick

"Why, oh tell me, why do people break up, oh then turn around and make up?

I just came to see, you'd never do that to me, would you baby?"---Tina Turner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys. Here's an interesting read:

 

http://www.antiquewritingitems.com/downloads/infodata/Wafer_seals.pdf

 

"Probably the most common reminder of wafers is the wafer seal and this cross hatched seal matrix is one of the most common seals at antique fairs. These hatched seals could also be used for sealing wax, but they are more commonly associate with wafers. The wafer seal was also frequently designed into writing equipment and it is often a surprising accessory in quill knives, pencils and conventional seals."

 

 

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Zw92qAkQFhw/TFyL_kxEsHI/AAAAAAAADP4/ZpIj6hMXHPE/s800/waferseals.png

 

Thank you Enai! I suddenly have a new bunch of things to want! :thumbup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, you gotta be on the lookout for wafers. ;) I'll be disappointed if you don't find any, lol. In the meantime, sealing wax is good, too. :)

I keep coming back to my Esterbrooks.

 

"Things will be great when you're downtown."---Petula Clark

"I'll never fall in love again."---Dionne Warwick

"Why, oh tell me, why do people break up, oh then turn around and make up?

I just came to see, you'd never do that to me, would you baby?"---Tina Turner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, you gotta be on the lookout for wafers. ;) I'll be disappointed if you don't find any, lol. In the meantime, sealing wax is good, too. :)

I think this will be a little harder than most things to find. Meanwhile, the idea of making them oneself is intriguing. Somehow I think the USPS might have something to say about a flour paste seal with the potential to get gummy. :headsmack: It could work in California but what about those wet states.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check this out! :headsmack: Isinglass mentioned in that article has nothing to do with glass!!!! Who knew?

 

Isinglass (pronounced /ˈaɪzɪŋɡlæs, ˈaɪzɪŋɡlɑːs/) is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification of wine and beer. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialized gluing purposes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hah! You were already trying to cook a batch, weren't you? :)

 

Wet states? What wet states? :D

 

You can put the wafer on the letter instead of the envelope for the wet states. ;)

I keep coming back to my Esterbrooks.

 

"Things will be great when you're downtown."---Petula Clark

"I'll never fall in love again."---Dionne Warwick

"Why, oh tell me, why do people break up, oh then turn around and make up?

I just came to see, you'd never do that to me, would you baby?"---Tina Turner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JBB, to get the image, I just took a screenshot which I saved into a file. Did you want these? (I'll be back later.)

 

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Zw92qAkQFhw/TFynyjPlSII/AAAAAAAADQE/nYVt5qXBQDU/s800/medallionwafers.png

 

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Zw92qAkQFhw/TFyny-qfwVI/AAAAAAAADQI/OBvesFopFGc/s800/frenchwafers.png

I keep coming back to my Esterbrooks.

 

"Things will be great when you're downtown."---Petula Clark

"I'll never fall in love again."---Dionne Warwick

"Why, oh tell me, why do people break up, oh then turn around and make up?

I just came to see, you'd never do that to me, would you baby?"---Tina Turner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ta-DA, Enai!!! Good going!!! Fascinating :) :) :) :)

 

Thank you, Rena. *takes bow, lol*

 

Seriously, I would not have looked it up if you did not offer your counterpoints. I even went to the used books store during lunch to browse old books, where I found one of my "clues". It does turn out that some pipe tampers (among other things) can have the wafer design at the end so they also double as wafer seals. Interesting.

I keep coming back to my Esterbrooks.

 

"Things will be great when you're downtown."---Petula Clark

"I'll never fall in love again."---Dionne Warwick

"Why, oh tell me, why do people break up, oh then turn around and make up?

I just came to see, you'd never do that to me, would you baby?"---Tina Turner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JBB, to get the image, I just took a screenshot which I saved into a file. Did you want these? (I'll be back later.)

 

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Zw92qAkQFhw/TFynyjPlSII/AAAAAAAADQE/nYVt5qXBQDU/s800/medallionwafers.png

Thanks. It would be fun to have some of these to use on letters. :cloud9:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...