Featured Small Seal Stamp - old?

Hi, I have found this little seal stamp at a flea market and would like to know more about it, as this is not my area of knowledge... Do you think it is old, and if, how old ? And what would be the stone it is carved of? Thank you in advance,
Mat

PS: The last image is mirrored, so you can see the letters more easily.

 

It appears to be a pretty typical mid to late 19th C. pocket seal. They died out in the late 19th C with the introduction of envelopes to hold letters. Prior to the envelope the 'letter' was a folded sheet of paper but as letters went into envelopes more an more, the seal became more or less redundant in everyday use. Naturally, some people used them for years after they were no longer de rigeur, and to this day some people use little red paper seals on the backs of envelopes.

The stone is possibly onyx, and possibly dyed that colour.

 

Thank you for the information, afantiques!
Mat

 

On second thoughts the stone may well be carnelian.

 

Right, it looks like the ones I found online now... Thank you again!

 

I still have a small collection of seals (including one which I made myself with my initials in it). And I use them regularly. Whenever I sell an item online, I send it off wrapped up in brown paper and sealed in wax. Not many people get packages sealed in wax these days, and it's something fun to get in the post (and it's lots of fun to do!).

Seals were very, very, very common throughout the world from ancient times. In Asia (China and Japan specifically) they still use them every single day. I have my own Chinese seal as well, with my name in Chinese characters. Seal-carving is still a HUGE industry (and artform) in China and Japan (and Korea etc).

Seals in the western world lasted for a long time, but these days they're more of a novelty than anything else.

The original purpose of the seal was twofold - Identification - and security.

The seal on the letter told you who wrote it and signed it. But it also prevented the contents from being tampered with. Traditional sealing wax (which you can still buy) dries rock hard, and if you break it - it crumbles into dust. So it's impossible to break open a sealed letter and then re-seal it. That way you knew the information was compromised.

Modern sealing wax is of a softer consistency, but it still works very well.

Prior to the 1800s, letters or documents were, as AF says, written and then folded in such a way that they could be sealed in on themselves. I believe these were called lettersheets or some-such thing. There was a specific title for them and I don't remember what that is. Remember that paper was expensive. It was cheaper to seal the letter rather than waste more paper giftwrapping it and sealing the wrapping.

The first envelopes (with those triangular folds which make a cross on the back of the envelope like a sort of wonky 'X'), which you can still buy today - were designed specifically so that the entire envelope folded up to ONE point - that way all you needed was ONE seal to close the entire thing. Not many people know that today.

Sealing is lots of fun. But there's definitely an art to it. After melting the wax over the fold and making the puddle the right size - you need to moisten the seal before applying it to the hot wax.

Some people do this by dabbing the seal on a sponge or whatever. I do it the old-fashioned way - sucking on the seal-head with my mouth and then just jamming it onto the wax. It might seem a trifling detail but it's actually essential - if you don't moisten the seal before pressing it - the cooling wax sticks to the seal like setting concrete and it's impossible to take it off without ripping the paper. Moistening the seal creates a barrier between the cold brass and the hot wax that stops it from sticking.

 

Great info, thank you!
Mat

 

I love all that!!!

 

Back when I was in my teens (Oh Lordy, was I ever that young?), my Mom had signet rings made for a couple of us with her Coat of Arms.....and it WAS fun to seal letters with it!!!!! Don't wear it any more!!

Mat, yours looks really nifty!!!