Gerry's Collection
of Antique Wax Seal Stamps
A beautiful woman’s bust, serving as the handle of a wax seal stamp, engraved with the coat of arms of a noble woman. The significance of the shield shapes and their meanings in heraldry is important. The oval (or sometimes lozenge) shape is traditionally associated with non-combatants or women. There is no crown on this coat of arms, but the helmet combined with the hat tells us that the lady who owned this stamp was married to a Baron of the Napoleonic Empire.
A Victorian Silver Desk Seal (around 1890), finely decorated with floral designs, which is typical of the 19th century. The crest is beautifully engraved, including the family motto that says "Recte Velle Certe Posse", meaning “Make the right choice” in Latin. It comes from France (but bought from England) and is made of 95 grams of high grade (950) silver. So, this one completes my “Silver Collection” of antique wax seal stamps.
This seal stamp is quite elegant. Made of silver, we could think that this piece belonged to a noblewoman. The horn and the tree appearing together on the same shield may symbolize a combination of abundance and strength, suggesting a prosperous and stable lineage or territory.
This stamp is quite different, made of a single piece of metal. The coat of arms includes a shield in the "Renaissance" shape, a helmet with a crown, mantling, and a crest with a lion holding some sort of tool. The three lizards in the bend can symbolize adaptability Indeed, lizards are known for their ability to thrive in various environments, representing flexibility and resilience.
This seal stamp from the mid-19th century was bought from Berlin, Germany. It is rather light, since it not made of heavy bronze. The bronze is coated in silver, and we can see the coating wear out at various places. But still is quite elegant.
This is a tiny piece in my collection of antique wax seal stamps from European noble families. Very small. It is a cute (fancy?) little stamp, but the engraving is not so fine. Of course, it might be difficult to engrave such a small area. The crown looks a bit like a Miss Universe type of crown...
The crown on this simple coat of arms could be a bit misleading. It looks like a combination of the characteristics of both the crowns of a Baron and a Count. But this type of heraldic crown is used for hereditary Knights (Erfridder) by the nobility of The Netherlands.
A small 5.5cm high all metal stamp that arrived from Germany, but of unknown family origin. What is interesting to me is the presence of the horse as the crest, together with what seems to be the wings of eagle. To me, this is not a winged horse, but rather a combination of it with ceremonial wings that are often seen above the shield in German coats of arms.
A beautiful « Norman Soldier » stamp with the family coat of arms of the English Corbet family. There are some variations in the coat of arms that family, maybe depending on the several branches. The name Corbet derives from the Anglo-Norman word corb, which means « crow ». According to what I can read, the senior line of the family, Corbet of Moreton Corbet, includes an elephant in the coat of arms. The elephant may represent a family connection to India, where the animal is revered.
This finely detailed wax seal stamp is made of silver. It is really beautifully decorated. This stamp belonged to a noblewoman. A Countess. You can notice it because the shield is round, and of course the crown is the one of a Count.
This wax seal stamp is interesting. It looks like an ancient “travelling wax seal stamp”, used by the nobleman while he was on the way to the battlefield. Or at least that it what I like to think. It is an old stamp, made entirely of metal, and the elements include a chevron, fleurs de lis, a crowned helmet, and two knights as supporters of the shield, representing valor and chivalry.
Another very old all-metal wax seal stamp. This one is engraved with a monogram, which is something I normally don't collect. But since the monogram is placed on a shield, supported by lions, and with a nice crown, I made an exception to my rule and decided to acquire it.
An old but cute silver stamp in the shape of a baby that comes from Germany. In the coat of arms we can see horns above the shield. Horns are common features in crests of the Scandinavian and German heraldry, although rare in other heraldic traditions. These horns, almost always in a pair, were often drawn with an open ring at the tip.
An old, all massive silver, stamp bought from Italy, but from unknown family origin.
This is another example of a wax seal stamp that is appealing for both its style and its engraving. The coat of arms on this seal stamp is not the finest, and overall, the engravings could be deeper. But still, it is an interesting silver piece with elegant figures.
A late 19th century stamp made of silver, and engraved with the arms of the Austrian Rainer zu Harbach (or von Harbach) family. The Rainer zu Harbach was a family of merchants that was nobilised in 1755 and 1790 to the Duchy of Carinthia. The Duchy was located in the southern Austria and parts of the northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of bavaria in 976. Johann of Rainer zu Harbach (born 1782) was a founder of lead mines in Bleiburg, Petzen and Feistritz. Through his white lead factory, he became one of the best-known Carinthian industrials. He owned the estates of Freyenthurn, Rothenthurn and Harbach.
This interesting seal stamp was acquired from Italy and sold as an antique of the 16th century ("Antico timbro del XVI Sec"). It was very dark and indeed old looking when I received it, so I decided to put the stamp several times in my ultrasound cleaning machine. It ended up revealing this really nice coat of arms.
I put this little stamp with a glass handle and a metal base in the Silver Collection... for the simple reason that there is no "glass collection". It is an exception to the collection, since it is not engraved with a coat of arms but with a monogram. However, I decided to acquire it because I find the engraving very elegant looking. The red stone show a few dents, but this is normal for old stamps. If you zoom into the engraving, I am sure you will like it too. It comes from Italy.
Massive metal wax seal stamp from Germany.
An interesting silver seal stamp that comes from England. After some cleaning, the coat of arms revealed nice details. A mountain, two cinquefoils, and a sun, with beautiful eagles as supporters. A coat of arms with mountains may identify a family or territory located in a mountainous region, which is really common in England. So, the stamp may well come from another country. In Italy, Austria, or Slovakia, for example, mountains are more common in heraldry.
This seal belonged to the Sulzer family of Winterthur, Switzerland. I acquired it from a family member, and I hope that she will appreciate the stamp being shown in my collection. It is difficult to know exactly who the stamp originally belonged to. It is naturally open to speculations, but Baroness Fanny Louise von Sulzer-Wart was a Swiss noblewoman born on 29 July 1848 in Winterthur. Could the "L" on the coat of arms stand for Louise? Just a wild guess.
This is a seal stamp of the French family Hibon Lafresnoye. It possibly belonged more specifically to Augustin Hibon LaFresnoye (1789-1835). The handle of the stamp is made of three graduated shot balls purported to have been used during the battle of Malakoff. The largest shot ball is mounted with a metal band engraved with "Sebastopol 8 Septembre". It commemorates the capture by the French troops of the Malakhov Tower in Sevastopol, a key Russian defense during the Crimean War. This was a crucial step towards the end of the siege and the fall of Sevastopol to the allied troops. The city of Sevastopol was the home of the Tsar's Black Sea fleet, which threatened the West due to the access to the Mediterranean. The unusual shape of this stamp and the use of shot balls make it one of the most unique pieces of the collection.
