Sealing wax
Sealing wax is a wax material of a seal which, after melting, hardens quickly (to paper, parchment, ribbons and wire, and other material), forming a bond that is difficult to break without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to verify that something such as a document is unopened, to verify the sender's identity (for example with a seal stamp or signet ring), and as decoration. Sealing wax can also be used to take impressions of other seals. Wax was used to seal letters close and later, from about the 16th century, envelopes. Long before sealing wax was employed, the Romans used bitumen for this purpose.
Composition
Formulas vary, but there was a major shift after European trade with the Indies opened. In the
By 1866, many different colours were available: gold (using
Method of application
Sealing wax is available in the form of sticks, sometimes with a wick, or as granules. The stick is melted at one end (but not ignited or blackened), or the granules heated in a spoon, normally using a flame, and then placed where required, usually on the flap of an envelope. While the wax is still soft and warm, the seal (preferably at the same temperature as the wax, for the best impression) should be quickly and firmly pressed into it and released.[1]
Modern use
At the end of 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century, sealing wax was used in laboratories as a vacuum cement.[4] It was gradually replaced by other materials like plasticine, but according to Nobel Laureate Patrick Blackett, "at one time it might have been hard to find in an English laboratory an apparatus which did not use red Bank of England sealing-wax as a vacuum cement."[5]
Since the advent of a postal system, the use of sealing wax has become more for ceremony than security. Modern times have required new styles of wax, allowing for mailing of the seal without damage or removal. These new waxes are flexible for mailing and are referred to as glue-gun sealing wax, faux sealing wax and flexible sealing wax. Traditional sealing wax candles are produced in Canada, Spain, Mexico, France, Italy and Scotland, with formulations similar to those used historically.
See also
- Bulla (seal)
- Papal bull
- Tamper-evident
- Letterlocking
- Wax jack
References
- ^ a b Tomlinson, C., ed. (1866). Tomlinson's Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts. London: Virtue & Co. Vol II, page 495.
- ^ "Schuetteite Mineral Data". Webmineral.com. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
- ^ Ciara.Berry (2016-01-15). "Great Seal of the Realm". The Royal Family. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ Swami Jnanananda (1947). High Vacua: Principles, Production and Measurement. D. Van Nostrand Company. p. 251. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ P.M.S. Blackett (1933). "The Craft of Experimental Physics". Cambridge University Studies (PDF). Nicholson & Watson. p. 72. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .
- How to use sealing wax