New Caledonia Activity-Wax Seals

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES: Tod in New Caledonia

ACTIVITY ONE: Wax Seals: Sealing a Letter With John Tod

Materials Needed

Sealing or regular candle wax
Sheets of heavy paper (construction paper works fine)
Embossing or ink stamps, signet rings, or anything with raised letters or images (you can use your thumb if you are using regular wax and wait for it to cool.)

Fort Kamloops Journal
Courtesy of BCARS
Mss.A/B/20/K12/1841-42

This is a picture of a page of the Fort Kamloops Journal. The red spot which looks like blood is actually sealing wax which John Tod would have used to seal up his letters. We just have to lick the flap on an envelope to seal it. He probably had a signet ring which he would press into the wax to show that he had sealed the letter. The drop of wax on the Fort Kamloops Journal probably means that John Tod or someone else at the fort was sending a letter. Imagine who John Tod might have been writing to: Edward Ermatinger, his daughter Emma, or his superiors in London or York Factory. Imagine what this letter might have said. Activity Steps

1) Have someone heat up some wax on the stove or light a candle

2) Get your paper ready: cut a square piece of paper, fold the corners into the centre which is where you will put your seal. Now you have a "letter" to put your seal on. You can put anything you want inside the "letter."

3) Drip some wax onto the middle of your "letter," where the corners meet. Have a friend hold the paper steady for you.

4) Blow on the wax until it is dry to the touch, then press your "seal" into the wax. Be careful to press straight down and not to break right through the wax.

5) If your seal isn't very visible after it is dry you can colour it in with a marker.

6) Proper sealing wax is much stronger than candle wax but in either case the wax is quite fragile so be careful.


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