What material was used to make the seals?

The word "seal" has a double meaning. We should distinguish between the seal matrix (the sealing instrument with a negative image) and the positive seal impression made into a pliable material. The context makes it usually clear which of the two is referred to. But still, in order to avoid confusion, one should be aware of the difference.

The seal matrices were usually made of brass or steel, sometimes of other hard materials. The impressions themselves were made into pliable materials like beeswax, resins, mixtures of these, clay, even soft metals like lead or gold. A lead or gold seal is usually referred to as a bulla, derived from the Latin word plumbum (lead).

Very few metal seal matrices have survived, since they were frequently lost or destroyed or defaced for legal reasons when the owner of the seal died or forfeited his position.

Historic Waxcraft specializes in reproducing seal impressions.

In the Middle Ages the sealing material was initially pure beeswax, ranging in color from almost white to yellow to brown. In the 11th century, pigments were added, e.g., red, green, yellow, black. One began also to experiment with additions of various resins in order to make the wax harder and the images to appear sharper. Unfortunately, this resulted also in rendering the seal impressions more brittle. The composition of the sealing wax changed over the centuries and from country to country. For example, in 19th century England the material for royal seals was almost pure shellac. The color varied depending on the destination of the document. About the color choices one could write long papers; a brief web page is not the right place for this.

The color we use is in the range of authentic colors and is selected to give the impressions an optimally good appearance and readability. The most appealing and hence most popular is a color which looks like dark ivory. Some seals look better in red, brown, or green. We use our discretion to make them look as authentic as possible. For historians, we can provide seal impressions that look absolutely authentic (e.g., black), but are perhaps visually not so attractive.

In most instances we have access only to the seal impressions. We find them in museums, archives, and private collections in different states of repair; very seldom are they in mint condition. To retain a flavor of history, we reproduce all the imperfections of the originals.

Some European archives have enormous seal collections. Thus, for example, the Archive National in Paris boasts having two-and-a-half million seals. Other archives have comparable collections. Our collection is very modest: it consists of approximately 3000 originals and 5000 copies. We are the only makers of seal reproductions in this country.

Very few seals were attached directly to the paper or parchment; the majority hung on cords or parchment strips from the bottom edge of the document. Some of the latter type were two-sided (most English and French seals). Frequently, seals came in protective enclosures (skippets) of wood or metal, or had protective pouches of fabric or leather around them.

The sizes of seals varied. The general tendency for seals of royalty or nobility was a steady growth through the centuries. Our smallest seal, that of Sigebert III of the year 638, is approximately 1 cm (3/8") in diameter. Our largest, that of the Russian czar Alexander II of the year 1856, measures 26 cm (over 10 inches). City seals, at least in Germany, went in a different direction. The second oldest, that of the city of Trier of the year 1172, is 13 cm (over 5 inches) in diameter. Most seals of the 13th/14th centuries are approximately 9 cm (3 1/2 inches) in diameter. The following centuries saw further reductions in size. Later came paper seals, finally being replaced by rubber stamps.

My Reproductions

In most instances our seal reproductions are of exactly the same size as the originals. All our reproductions have a small hanger permanently imbedded in the wax and a label bearing the name of the sealer (person, city, etc.) and date of the document.

I have seals of royalty, cities, guilds, universities, as well as many ecclesiastic seals of popes, bishops, cardinals, monasteries, and churches, from many countries: England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Bohemia, Russia, etc., etc. For example, I have the Great Seals of all English kings between Edward the Confessor [1056] and Queen Victoria [1877], seals of hundreds of European cities, seals of all the kings and emperors of Germany, about half of all the French kings, and 150 Spanish seals. My collection also includes ancient cylinder seals from the Near East.