The origins of the use of wax to seal documents is lost in the sands of time. But it's easy enough to see how it came about. A document, whether parchment or papyrus or birchbark, that had an unbroken blob of wax holding it closed was obviously a document that had not been tampered with since it left the hands of the person who sealed it.

At some later point, creating an impression into the wax when it was still soft became a method of authentication. Since many very important people had some sort of badge of office, impressing this into the wax was a sure way of making clear that the sealed document had not only been tampered with, it had come directly from the very important person. Whether this led to the wearing of signet rings or signet rings led to pressing devices into wax isn't clear. Still, in an era when very few people could read, but most of them knew that the local lord's standard was the white hart, for instance, a seal bearing an image of the hart could be a powerful tool.

Eventually the seal became equivalent of what a signature is today; a proclamation bearing the royal seal was taken to come directly from the royal will. In this case, the seal would be affixed at the bottom of the revealed document, as a sign of authenticity, not as a device to keep the contents from prying eyes. Seals used for this purpose became quite large, and scribes and secretaries kept pots of wax to be melted over a burner for use in creating the impression. Ribbon could be sealed into the paper with the wax as further embellishment.

Later, as literacy became more common, sealing wax became a common method of closing and securing one's envelope. With the advent of the stickum-flap, sealing wax became no more than a decoration.

Now, sealing wax on an envelope that is going through the mail is more likely than not to be knocked off by the post office's automated sorting machinery. Therefore, seals should be employed only on paper that is going -inside- the envelope, not to secure the flap.

Today, sealing wax is used in scrapbooking, in personal documents, decorating affirmations, and sealing spell papers.

Our wax with wicks is good for 12-14 impressions per stick. To light the stick, use a candle; if the wick's flame goes out, the wax you have already dripped may harden before you get through fumbling with matches or a lighter. Practice on a scrap sheet of paper to learn how many drops of wax you need for a dramatic seal. Drip the wax into a puddle on the paper, wait a moment and then press the seal into the wax. Select a seal from our wide selection that is the most meaningful to you, or collect a variety of seals for different purposes.