Sealing wax, Seals and things

[Maria]

Dear Members of TFPN,

 

It has been ages since I bought several sticks of sealing wax, to seal the envelope with and -- a seal.

 

Do they still make seals and sealing wax these days?

 

Respectfully,

Maria

[Huy]

yes

[Lennart Wennberg]

Yes Dear Maria,

 

Take a look at this: http://www.exaclair.com/brands_jherbin.shtml

 

One of the retailers is: www.pendemonium.com

 

Personally I use a seal from J. Herbin with a dove carrying a small olive branch, but the wax is Swedish of a little harder kind in deep red or dark green. Nice! The recipients love it.

 

Best Regards

 

Lennart

 

PS: The dove can be seen in different ways: The dove that Noah sent away, The Holy Spirit, A Peace Dove etc.

[Shangas]

Hi Maria,

 

Yes there are companies which still produce sticks of sealing-wax, along with seals and monograms and logos/coats of arms etc. They're a bit hard to find, but they do exist.

[kiavonne]

There are many places to get sealing wax and seals. If you look back a few pages, you'll find a few threads dealing with sealing wax and seals.

 

My favorite for sealing wax is Atelier Gargoyle. They have a great modern sealing wax made for getting your seal through postal systems, and they also sell J Herbin sealing waxes. A google for "wax seal" will bring up lots of different sites. Everything from the standard inexpensive seals to the very expensive Dexter custom seals. Craft stores like Michaels will also sell inexpensive seals and waxes.

[hellkitty]

My wax-sealing addiction is fueled by letterseals.com. They have a number of nice seals and will take custom orders. What I like best is they have faux sealing wax--basically a plastic polymer that you can use in a standard glue gun. The plastic 'wax' has the best rating when it comes to making it through the mail intact, and takes a really nice impression.

 

This sounds like an advertisement for them--honestly, I'm just really hooked on the stuff.

 

Though now y'all have given me OTHER places to hunt and lust.....

 

HK

[Titivillus]

Dear Members of TFPN,

 

It has been ages since I bought several sticks of sealing wax, to seal the envelope with and -- a seal.

 

Do they still make seals and sealing wax these days?

 

Respectfully,

Maria

 

Yes they do actually I sold off about a dozen or so selas that I haven't been using and have a cigar box full of wax. Van Cort Instruments does very reasonable selas with hand turned handles as well as the other guys out there. I'm a purist so I don't use that new polymer wax but then again most of my seals are on presents or personal letters that are hand carried.

 

Kurt

 

[AfterMyNap]

I get mine from Colonial Williamsburg. If I want to mail them I use a secondary envelope over the original.

[Rena]

Here is my recommendation:

 

http://www.ateliergargoyle.com/index.html

 

From their site:

Ward Dunham and Linnea Lundquist (the proprietors of Atelier Gargoyle) have been collecting antique seals, commissioning new seal engravings, and designing new seals themselves for several decades. Ward, a Master Calligrapher specializing in Gothic Hands, has long been interested in Heraldry.

 

 

I have purchased both seals and their supple sealing wax in gorgeous colors. They have information and tips within the website on how to easily apply the sealing wax. They are also great to deal with.

 

 

 

[Maria]

Dear Rena and the many kind Members responding'

 

Thank you so much for your responses.

 

Rena, you gave me a link for exactly what I am seeking -- customized and or antique seals. I want to get my monogram striked; and a few different designs.

 

Thank you so much!

 

Respectfully,

Maria

 

Here is my recommendation:

 

http://www.ateliergargoyle.com/index.html

 

From their site:

Ward Dunham and Linnea Lundquist (the proprietors of Atelier Gargoyle) have been collecting antique seals, commissioning new seal engravings, and designing new seals themselves for several decades. Ward, a Master Calligrapher specializing in Gothic Hands, has long been interested in Heraldry.

 

 

I have purchased both seals and their supple sealing wax in gorgeous colors. They have information and tips within the website on how to easily apply the sealing wax. They are also great to deal with.

 

[Wildoaklane]

I use sealing wax all the time! I usually find my things from seasons-creations.com They also have a store on ebay and have found them to be very friendly, helpful, and consistent.

[Titivillus]

I use sealing wax all the time! I usually find my things from seasons-creations.com They also have a store on ebay and have found them to be very friendly, helpful, and consistent.

 

 

Thanks for the link. I'm always looking for interesting sources.

 

Kurt

[Maria]

Dear Wildoaklane and (bleep);

 

Thank you for your responses as well.

 

Much appreciated.

 

Respectfully,

Maria

[tfwall]

Here is my recommendation:

 

http://www.ateliergargoyle.com/index.html

 

From their site:

Ward Dunham and Linnea Lundquist (the proprietors of Atelier Gargoyle) have been collecting antique seals, commissioning new seal engravings, and designing new seals themselves for several decades. Ward, a Master Calligrapher specializing in Gothic Hands, has long been interested in Heraldry.

 

It's probably worth pointing out that the website hasn't been updated in over a year. There are several other colours available upon request. Before you order for the first time, it is worth emailing Linnea to get the full range of wax colours.

[Maria]

Dear Chemyst,

 

Thank you for your response as well.

 

I think in my personal situation, I would have to call them and or E-mail directly; as to commission a wax seal that is personalized.

 

But, I thank you for mentioning that the site isn't current, for the benefit of other readers in a similar quest in finding the right shade of sealing wax and unique seals.

 

Respectfully,

Maria

 

Here is my recommendation:

 

http://www.ateliergargoyle.com/index.html

 

From their site:

Ward Dunham and Linnea Lundquist (the proprietors of Atelier Gargoyle) have been collecting antique seals, commissioning new seal engravings, and designing new seals themselves for several decades. Ward, a Master Calligrapher specializing in Gothic Hands, has long been interested in Heraldry.

 

It's probably worth pointing out that the website hasn't been updated in over a year. There are several other colours available upon request. Before you order for the first time, it is worth emailing Linnea to get the full range of wax colours.

 

[PacificCoastPen]

Letterseals.com is a great company. Service and packaging excellent. They also have sales and sale coupons in the box when you get their products.

Consider highlighting inks to make the embossing more visible. Waterston waxes have better wicks than the Stuart Houghton waxes. I have had to melt the Waterston red sticks in a small spoon after the wicks pooped out. The company has also been very responsive to request to display their waxes in a clearer way for color selection.

 

Some mail systems are nicer than others. My post office totally destroys (scraping by machines) my letter seals. However, some other countries and states mail do not destroy seals. Post one to yourself to see how your system treats seals. Even my mail compatible wax seals fared badly.

Then, I use the seal on the letter instead.

 

Wanda

[tfwall]

I think in my personal situation, I would have to call them and or E-mail directly; as to commission a wax seal that is personalized.

 

Depending on what you mean by personalized, you may want to look further afield.

 

Atelier Gargoyle certainly has unique seals, but I've never heard them advertising for custom work. You will very likely be the only person in your area, or on FPN, with a particular design from their portfolio, but it won't really be personalized.

 

There are loads of outfits that can make you a monogram or a combination of a clip art piece with your monogram.

 

For truly custom work, you should look at Dexter Engraving. They will take your design and make it precisely to your specifications. You can control depth, detail, what metal the seal is made from, finished size, &c. They will be happy to ring you from the UK, submit proofs for your review and otherwise work to ensure your satisfaction. Can't recommend them enough, if you are after a truly personalized experience.

[Maria]

Dear Chemyst,

 

Thank you for your response and additional comments.

 

I shall look into it.

 

Respectfully,

Maria

 

I think in my personal situation, I would have to call them and or E-mail directly; as to commission a wax seal that is personalized.

 

Depending on what you mean by personalized, you may want to look further afield.

 

Atelier Gargoyle certainly has unique seals, but I've never heard them advertising for custom work. You will very likely be the only person in your area, or on FPN, with a particular design from their portfolio, but it won't really be personalized.

 

There are loads of outfits that can make you a monogram or a combination of a clip art piece with your monogram.

 

For truly custom work, you should look at Dexter Engraving. They will take your design and make it precisely to your specifications. You can control depth, detail, what metal the seal is made from, finished size, &c. They will be happy to ring you from the UK, submit proofs for your review and otherwise work to ensure your satisfaction. Can't recommend them enough, if you are after a truly personalized experience.

 

[Maria]

Dear PacificCoastPen;

 

Thank you for your response and your advice as well.

 

Much appreciated.

 

Respectfully,

Maria

 

Letterseals.com is a great company. Service and packaging excellent. They also have sales and sale coupons in the box when you get their products.

Consider highlighting inks to make the embossing more visible. Waterston waxes have better wicks than the Stuart Houghton waxes. I have had to melt the Waterston red sticks in a small spoon after the wicks pooped out. The company has also been very responsive to request to display their waxes in a clearer way for color selection.

 

Some mail systems are nicer than others. My post office totally destroys (scraping by machines) my letter seals. However, some other countries and states mail do not destroy seals. Post one to yourself to see how your system treats seals. Even my mail compatible wax seals fared badly.

Then, I use the seal on the letter instead.

 

Wanda

 

[bushellk]

The sealing wax I prefer is Aladine, imported from France.

 

http://www.vortexgifts.com/catalog/product...products_id=372

 

It is the only flexible wax I'm aware of here in Montreal. If it's not flexible, the seal will crack and fall off en route.

 

There is no wick so you just hold a lighter under it. They come in red, blue, green, and gold, and in large sticks that last for months.

 

Something else that may be of interest to FPN members is that I began to have a problem with the seal sticking to the wax, ruining the seal. The people at Casse Noissette Stationary here in Old Montreal told me to put the seal in the freezer or on an ice cube for a few minutes before doing a seal. This fixed the problem.