Antique Wax Seal Stamp w/ 3 Sides

[bigcaddy64]

I picked this up this morning at a great little garage sale not far from the house.

It was packed with great stuff and prices were cheap. The owners just wanted everything gone ASAP so I was happy to take what I could off their hands.

While looking over the jewelry, I spotted some watches and costume stuff along with this stamp. Total cost was $1 so I ponied up and went along my way.


I had a feeling the stamp was a wax seal but I have no idea who used previously. It looks really worn, like it was carried in a pocket daily, had the markings are faint.

Can anybody decipher the words on it or do any of the markings look familiar?

I didn’t see a Sterling mark which makes me think it pewter.

 

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[Molewacker]

Not your design, but seen one googling described as a fob. Nice score!

The Birds on Hearts looks Pennsylvania Dutch.

 

[pepperj]

The sterling mark could be just worn off, or predates a sterling mark.
Either way you got a really nice fob for a great deal. Congrats

 

[bigcaddy64]

I actually have a seal kit that was given to me by my grandmother. I’m tempted to melt some and use the stamp just to see if I can get a better view of the markings.

 

[tamrock]

The style of that looks pretty old. I sure like it.

 

[Trezurehunter]

I'd say you made out pretty good for a $ 1.00

 

[trdking]

Fantastic score Pewter would be way to soft BTW Has to be something else

 

[Red-Coat]

That’s a nice seal. I don’t see why it couldn’t be pewter, since it was commonly used for seals. Pewter hardness (or rather the lack of it) versus silver is a bit of a myth since ‘pewter’ is a generic for a range of alloy compositions that have advanced through time. Sterling silver has a ‘natural’ hardness of about 2.5 on the Mohs scale but rises to about 3 with working or improvement post-annealing. Traditional pewter with lead in the mix would be below that but by the mid-1700s lead-free versions were being produced (sometimes known as “English” pewter) and after 1770 there were other pewter variants such as “Britannia metal” (tin, antimony and copper) with a hardness of 3 or better.

I can’t read the entwined initials forming the crowned monogram but those will likely be the initials of the owner, although the crown doesn’t necessarily imply nobility since crowns were pretentiously used by all and sundry. One face appears to have what looks like a water-wheel or something industrial as part of the design, which implies some kind of manufacturing operation. The face with the two doves (or lovebirds?) and hearts reads something like “AMOVR POVR AMOVR”. That doesn’t make complete sense as a literal phrase but perhaps something along the lines of “love for [the sake of] love” or “love for [my] love”. The sentiment is pretty clear even if the exact translation isn’t. I’ve seen similar seals with the doves further apart and wording like “separated but together” used by those whose occupation required them to travel away from home or after bereavement.

My guess is that the monogram was for use on general personal correspondence, the wheel on business correspondence, and the doves & hearts for ‘love letters’ at times when the user was away from home.

 

[bigcaddy64]

That’s a nice seal. I don’t see why it couldn’t be pewter, since it was commonly used for seals. Pewter hardness (or rather the lack of it) versus silver is a bit of a myth since ‘pewter’ is a generic for a range of alloy compositions that have advanced through time. Sterling silver has a ‘natural’ hardness of about 2.5 on the Mohs scale but rises to about 3 with working or improvement post-annealing. Traditional pewter with lead in the mix would be below that but by the mid-1700s lead-free versions were being produced (sometimes known as “English” pewter) and after 1770 there were other pewter variants such as “Britannia metal” (tin, antimony and copper) with a hardness of 3 or better.

I can’t read the entwined initials forming the crowned monogram but those will likely be the initials of the owner, although the crown doesn’t necessarily imply nobility since crowns were pretentiously used by all and sundry. One face appears to have what looks like a water-wheel or something industrial as part of the design, which implies some kind of manufacturing operation. The face with the two doves (or lovebirds?) and hearts reads something like “AMOVR POVR AMOVR”. That doesn’t make complete sense as a literal phrase but perhaps something along the lines of “love for [the sake of] love” or “love for [my] love”. The sentiment is pretty clear even if the exact translation isn’t. I’ve seen similar seals with the doves further apart and wording like “separated but together” used by those whose occupation required them to travel away from home or after bereavement.

My guess is that the monogram was for use on general personal correspondence, the wheel on business correspondence, and the doves & hearts for ‘love letters’ at times when the user was away from home.

wow, thank you for the detailed reply. Your theory on the 3 sides (business, personal, love interest) makes perfect sense. I still haven't had time to press it into wax but i will this week and post the results. I can even test it for silver content and settle the debate once and for all.

 

[Red-Coat]

wow, thank you for the detailed reply. Your theory on the 3 sides (business, personal, love interest) makes perfect sense. I still haven't had time to press it into wax but i will this week and post the results. I can even test it for silver content and settle the debate once and for all.

You're welcome. An actual impression in something of neutral opaque colour with a matte finish would be good. I find 'Blu Tack' that's been in the fridge for a while works well. There's only so much that can be said from a picture, but here's an edit from yours mirrored to how it would impress, converted to grayscale, and with a little enhancement:

 

[ARC]

amour pour amour = Love for Love.

 

[Red-Coat]

amour pour amour = Love for Love.

Yes, that's what I saw it as (the U's substituted with Latin V's) but, as I said, it doesn't make complete sense in that it's a word-for-word translation with no grammatical validity. The sentiment is nevertheless clear.

 

[ARC]

Yes, that's what I saw it as (the U's substituted with Latin V's) but, as I said, it doesn't make complete sense in that it's a word-for-word translation with no grammatical validity. The sentiment is nevertheless clear.

Its a french term... there is even a semi famous album named this.

 

[ARC]

 

[JimDon]

I would say early 1800s on this piece. Really nice score

 

[bigcaddy64]

I would say early 1800s on this piece. Really nice score

Wow, that's pretty early. When i grabbed it, it was purely instinct due to the color (silver) as it was resting in a pile of gaudy costume jewelry. Its nice to know my eye is still as sharp as ever.


So far, the items grabbed at that sale has been doing pretty good for me. I sold a pair of costume jewelry earrings that covered all of Saturday's yard sale expenditure. That means anything else sold is pure profit.