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Sealing Wax Seals

jbb

By jbb
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jbb

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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

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Enai Extremely Rare

Enai

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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

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jbb

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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.

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jbb Donor Pen

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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

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tfwall Collectors Item

tfwall

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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.

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jbb Donor Pen

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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?

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Rena Vintage

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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.

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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.

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Enai Extremely Rare

Enai

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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

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jbb Donor Pen

jbb

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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:

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Enai Extremely Rare

Enai

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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

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jbb Donor Pen

jbb

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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.

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jbb Donor Pen

jbb

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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

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Enai Extremely Rare

Enai

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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

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Enai Extremely Rare

Enai

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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

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Enai Extremely Rare

Enai

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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

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jbb Donor Pen

jbb

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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:

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