How Do You Use Victorian Seals & Sealing Wax?
Victorian life was so centered around propriety in communication that publishers produced entire letter-writing etiquette manuals, such as “The Lover’s Letter Writer For Ladies and Gentlemen and The Lover’s Casket.” While such books reflected the Victorian obsession with courtship and even included etiquette for penning a rejection for a marriage proposal, it’s little wonder the senders worked hard to keep such missives secret. According to the National Postal Museum, although gummed envelopes were invented in the 1850s, “The top flap remained ungummed, of course, for the same stores also sold sealing wax, seals and other items to seal the envelopes.” In response to this need, the Victorians developed an etiquette for using sealing wax. Light the stick of wax. Hold it vertically to keep the wick lit and let the wax soften just until it starts to pool in on itself. Carefully move the stick over the “v” in the envelope and turn the wax stick on its side, holding it about two inches away
