> Date:    Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:03:27 -0600
> From:    Diane Ethridge <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Use of seal
>
> Would the use of a seal on letters & documents signify a particular
> status of the individual involved  or would every family have had an
> identifying seal?
>
> Thanks,
> D. Ethridge
> TX

Seals were first used when literacy was low, and during Medieval times 
almost every man had his seal. Personal seals gradually died out as literacy 
spread and a signature became the authenticating device, with the witnessing 
notary sealing the document with his seal.

By the time America was being surveyed, parceled and sold, seals were 
usually just written curlicues with the word "seal" written inside, similar 
to the notary stamps used today in lieu of the embossing seals of days past. 
Old wax seals are avidly sought by collectors.

Tom Reedy 

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