Fun Fact: Wax Seal Colors and Etiquette

Anyone reading this actually familiar with wax seals? No? Okay, it’s this:

A wax seal

For you young ones, this was how we used to seal envelopes. No lick-and-stick flaps, you took your envelope (or even, the back of your folded letter), and put some wax (not always actually wax) on it, and used the seal (the metal circle there) to make an imprint and press the wax down, sealing the envelope. Common seals would be either a motto or something novelty, a monogram / initial(s), or a family crest, each with slightly different meanings. Additionally, the stereotypical seal color is red, but the color was actually important: the seal was likely the first thing you’d see, so the color of the seal was a hint as to the contents of the letter.

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