Gerry's Collection
of Antique Wax Seal Stamps
The Black Collection
Antique wax seal stamps with black ebonized wood handles, mostly turned from European hardwoods
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This seal stamp belonged to Joseph Marie d’Albert De Roquevaux. Born in Aubagne in 1764, he was the son of Louis Jean Clair d’Albert de Roquevaux, and Gabrielle Thérèse Longis. He married Marie Geneviève Victoire Charlotte Dévote de Grimaldi in 1781. Joseph Marie concluded his career as Captain of a frigate in 1814 and retired in 1817. The family claims descent from the Alberti family, from which they inherited the arms: Azure, four chains Or, issuing from the angles of the shield and joined at the center by an annulet Argent. The family was an established noble lineage in Provence, especially in the 17th century. Their legacy is primarily provincial, but firmly rooted in the judicial, landed, and noble fabric of southern France.
Antoine Joseph d'Albert de Roquevaux
The arms of the d'Albert de Roquevaux family in the Armorial General de France, also called Armorial d'Hozier
(XVII - XVIII century), initiated under the reign of Louis XIV
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Dating from the 19th century, this is an alliance wax seal stamp that belonged to a member of the Cais (or Chiaïs) de Pierlas family. The Cais family, Counts of Pierlas, is one of the oldest noble families in Nice and Provence, with roots dating back to the 13th century (circa 1200). By the late 18th century, the Cais family owned one of the most beautiful palaces in Old Nice, reflecting their prominence and influence in the region. Over the centuries, they contributed significantly to civic and military life, serving both the city of Nice and the army of the Duke of Savoy. Hyppolyte was an army officer and the first consul of Nice in 1820. He was also a talented sculptor and painter. One of his notable contributions was designing the façade of the Church of Cimiez, where the family tomb is located. In the mid-19th century, following the annexation of Nice to France in 1860, the family, unwilling to remain under French rule, relocated to Piedmont.
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An ancient document about the important Cais de Pierlas family, from Nice
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Painting by Hyppolyte Cais de Pierlas
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The seal stamp was bought from Brussels, but I have not been able to identify the family that owned it. We can see bees on the shield that belonged to a noblewoman. In French heraldry, bees were famously used by Napoleon Bonaparte to evoke the Merovingian dynasty. In Belgium bees are usually symbolic rather than traditional and can symbolize industry and diligence, especially in arms granted to bourgeois families, guilds, or new nobility after the 18th century.
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This stamp, which looks somewhat recent, depicts the arms of the de Bailly and the Tréton de Vaujuas-Langan families. It is difficult to link this piece to a particular person or couple, especially when variations in the coat of arms occurred over the generations. The de Bailly arms have not changed, but the Tréton de Vaujuas-Langan arms on this stamp appear with a cinquefoil (five-petaled flower) instead of a wheel. I believe that this stamp could relate to Aimée Pierrette Charlotte de Bailly, the daughter of Charles Gaspard, Marquis of Fresnay. She and her husband probably adopted the cinquefoil instead of the wheel as a mark of cadency. Aimée Pierrette was the wife of Louis, Marquis of Vaujuas-Langan. Louis was the son of Jacques Tréton de Vaujuas and Émilie de Langan du Boisfévrier, whose arms were Sable and charged with a lion. While Louis adopted a quartered coat of arms combining the arms of his parents, Aimée Pierrette Charlotte chose to display the arms of her husband's paternal lineage only.
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Charles Gaspard de Bailly (1765-1850)
Stamp of de Bailly and Tréton de Vaujuas-Langan families.
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Henri Tréton de Vaujuas-Langan (1830-1907)
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This seal belonged to the Fábry von Rumunyest (also written Rumunyesti Fábry or Fábry de Rumunyest). They were a Hungarian noble family whose name derives from the locality of Rumunyest, in the former Krassó-Szörény County (today in Romania). The family was ennobled by King Francis in 1833, when Johann (János) Fábry (rumunyesti Fábry János) received Rumunyest as a royal donation. During the 19th century, members of the family appear among the nobility of Temes and Krassó counties. Later generations developed Hungarian-Italian branches, notably in Turin, where the family intermarried with Italian nobility. Dorris Norvia Rehfeld (née Rumunyesti de Fábry), who died in 2012, was the last known survivor of the Italian line. Her grandparents were Baron Silvius Ludwig Rumunyesti de Fábry and Contessa Louisa Teolinda Ravissa. Other descendants emigrated to Western Europe and the United States, illustrating the broader diaspora of Austro-Hungarian noble families after the empire’s collapse.
Krassó County, Hungary
Coat of arms Fábry von Rumunyest
Johann (János) Fábry (Rumunyesti Fábry János)
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This wax seal stamp is engraved with the arms “Azure, three chevrons Or.” As several families bore this coat of arms, it is difficult to identify the original owner of the stamp with certainty. Research indicates that the French family de Girard, from Anjou, used this design. Another family was the d'Y de Résigny family. These were untitled families, which is consistent with the absence of a coronet.
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This simple yet elegant wax seal stamp is engraved with the arms of Gaspard Monge, Count of Péluse and of the Empire. The design clearly features the distinctive hat with five feathers, characteristic of Napoleonic heraldry for Counts of the Empire. Additionally, the shield includes the senator’s canton - an azure franc-canton charged with a gold mirror and a silver snake - added by those who held senatorial office. Gaspard Monge (1746–1818) was a renowned French mathematician, geometer, and statesman. Born in Beaune, he rose from modest beginnings to become a central figure in the scientific and political life of Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. A professor at the École Polytechnique, which he helped establish, he was also a fervent supporter of the French Revolution and later served as Minister of the Marine. He was ennobled as Count of Péluse and of the Empire. In recognition of his political service, he was appointed senator and awarded a heraldic canton representing this office.
Gaspard Monge (1746 - 1818)
First Count of Péluse and Count of the Empire
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A wax seal stamp of Gaspard Monge
Students of Polythechnique School, which was founded by Gaspard Monge
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This seal stamp comes from Austria. Horns were common crest elements in heraldry across the Holy Roman Empire. What is interesting about this engraving is the shape of the shield, which is rather unusual. Its elaborate lines correspond to what German heraldry sometimes describes as a “Kraweel” or “Tartschenform,” derived from late medieval and early Renaissance shield shapes commonly used in Central Europe. Although this is not an official category of shield in classical heraldry, these terms are used informally in Germany and Austria.
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The is a seal stamp of the de Cornulier family, originally from Brittany. It was recognized as noble of ancient extraction in 1668, based on a proven lineage tracing back to 1487. The family notably produced several mayors of Nantes and several Présidents à mortier at the Parliament of Brittany. The de Cornulier family is believed to have originally borne the name de Cornillé, and to descend from the former lords of the parish of Cornillé, in the diocese of Rennes. It is said to descend from Grégoire de Cornillé, a skilled hunter, who around the year 1380 was authorized by Duke John IV of Brittany to replace his coat of arms - which had been Argent, three crows Sable - with the arms borne thereafter by the de Cornulier family: Azure, a stag’s head caboshed Or, surmounted between its antlers by an ermine spot Argent. He is also said to have changed his name from de Cornillé to de Cornulier at that time. The family held multiple titles over the centuries.
René de Cornulier-Lucinière
(1811-1886)
Seal engraved with the arms of the Cornulier family
Louis Cornulier de la Lande de la Caraterie
(1778 - 1843)
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This wax seal stamp belonged to Henri Maublanc de Chiseuil and Henriette Virginie Destut d'Assay. Henri Maublanc de Chiseuil (1791–1874) held the hereditary title of Baron de Chiseuil. The Maublanc family had acquired the seigneurie of Chiseuil (in Saône‑et‑Loire, Burgundy) and was ennobled as Barons of the Empire by Napoleon I in 1813. Henriette Virginie Destut d’Assay (1794–1884) descended from the Destut d’Assay branch of the noble Destutt family. Her father, Léonce‑Henri‑Marie Destut, Comte d’Assay, held a countship linked to estates in the Yonne region (Burgundy). The coat of arms of Henri’s seal is parted per fess, whereas the original arms of the Maublanc family were simply “de contre-hermine plein”. One part of the shield refers to the de La Barre des Troches family. Henri’s father, François Maublanc de Chiseuil, had married Henriette de La Barre des Troches (1764–1818), and he decided to incorporate his wife’s arms into those of his own family. François was created Baron in 1813, while Henriette’s family already held the title of Barons de La Barre des Troches. This explains both the parted arms on Henri’s shield and the baron’s coronet above it. Henri’s wife, also named Henriette, belonged to the Comtes d’Assay through the Destut (or Destutt) family, an old noble house with two main branches: Destut d'Assay and Destutt de Tracy.
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Hyacinthe Maublanc de Chiseuil (1796-1870).
Michel de La Barre, maternal great-grandfather of Henri Maublanc de Chiseuil
The alliance arms of François Maublanc de Chiseuil (father of Henri) and Henriette de La Barre des Troches
Alliance coat of arms of Henri Maublanc de Chiseuil and Henriette Virginie Destut d'Assay
Antoine Destutt, Count of Tracy, from the Destut d’Assay' sister branch
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This old seal stamp is engraved with the alliance coat of arms of Johann Christoph von Fechenbach and Maria Anna von Mairhofen. The Barons von Fechenbach were a Catholic family that belonged to the Imperial Knighthood within the Franconian knightly canton of Odenwald. It was Karl Konstantin von Fechenbach who was elevated to the rank of Imperial Count (Reichsgraf) in 1790. With estates in Laudenbach and later Reckendorf, they produced prince-bishops, high clerics, and imperial officers. The von Mairhofen family was a noble house of the Alpine regions, particularly associated with Tyrol and Bavaria. From the late Middle Ages onward, its members served the Habsburg rulers as military officers, administrators, and local lords. The family belonged to the Catholic Imperial nobility and maintained close ties with other aristocratic houses of the Holy Roman Empire through strategic marriages and long-standing service to the Empire. The marriage of Johann Christoph and Maria Anna represents a confirmed link between the two noble families. Two related stamps are displayed in the silver section.
Arms of the von Mairhofen family
Johann Siebmacher’s Book of Coats of Arms, Part 5, 1772.
Arms of the von Fechenbach family
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This is a stamp of the secretariat of Archduchess of Austria Maria Elisabeth, Princess of Savoy-Carignan. She was born Maria Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignan in 1800, a member of the junior branch of the House of Savoy, the Carignan line, from which the kings of Italy later descended. This made her a princess of Savoy-Carignan by birth. She became an Archduchess of Austria through marriage. Indeed, in 1820 she wed Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria (Erzherzog Rainer Joseph von Österreich), who was a son of Emperor Leopold II of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty and thus brother to Emperor Francis II/I. Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria, Princess of Savoy-Carignan, lived in a period (first half of the 19th century) when members of imperial and royal houses had their own household administrations. The secretary would keep the wax seal stamp in his custody and use it on documents and correspondence as official proof of authenticity.
Arms of the House of Savoy, Dukes of Savoy, Princes of Piedmont and Naples, Kings of Italy
The Archduchess of Austria Maria Elisabeth, Princess of Savoy-Carignano
Seal of the Secretariat of Archduchess of Austria Maria Elisabeth, Princess of Savoy-Carignano
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This fine seal stamp is engraved with the arms of Jean-Joseph Leyx de Nussanne. His family is known but very limited in documentation, which suggests a small, late-emerging lineage rather than an ancient noble house. The name appears to be a nom de terre, derived from an estate or locality called Nussanne, probably in the Corrèze region, consistent with records from Tulle. The family’s prominence is centered on Jean-Joseph, born 6 July 1788, a former captain of hussars who was appointed Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 1814 for military service under the Napoleonic Empire. While this distinction did not automatically confer nobility, it often led to social assimilation among the minor elite during the Restoration. The heraldic arms engraved on the seal stamp - paly of gold and azure with a chief gules charged with two leopard heads - are consistent with early 19th-century armorial practice and reflect status gained through merit rather than medieval lineage.
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This is the seal stamp of Serafino Vercellone (1824 - 1890), who was an important textile entrepreneur and civic leader from Sordevolo, a town in the Biellese region of Piedmont, northern Italy. He dedicated his life to expanding the family’s textile enterprise - Lanifici Vercellone - which operated from 1842 until his death. Serafino was not only an industrialist who imported machinery from Belgium, but also a social leader. He served as mayor of Sordevolo (1866–1880), and the president of the Banca Biellese. Between the 1860s and 1880s, he commissioned Palazzo Vercellone, a stately villa prominently overlooking Piazza XI Febbraio, the main square in Sordevolo. The Palazzo was both an industrial headquarters and a social statement: richly decorated interiors, professional furnishings, and expansive gardens demonstrated the Vercellone family’s ascent into the wealthier stratum of Italian industrial bourgeoisie.
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The owner of this stamp remains unidentified, but I acquired it for the beauty of the finely engraved knight in armor. The three ostrich feathers rising above the helmet indicate that it could have belonged to a Baron of the First French Empire (Reign of Napoleon I). The shield itself is divided per fess: in chief, a bust of an armored knight; in base, three roundels. The engraving does not show tinctures, which makes the identification of the family even more difficult. Further research is required.
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This small seal stamp bears the arms of the Barde family, who were protestant merchants from Bordeaux. The engraving is rather unique, mainly because of the plume of feathers that rises from the coronet above the helmet. Such a design is unusual and beautiful The rest of the arms show a fruit-bearing tree with a radiant sun at the base, while the chief is decorated with a triangular pattern. The latin motto - Supeo Ut Prosim - translates to “I hope to be of use”. In the 17th and 18th century the Barde family was engaged in trade and finance. They were not noble and do not appear in the official Armorial Général de France (d’Hozier, 1696). However, bourgeois and Protestant families often used coronets in their heraldry unofficially, as a sign of aspiration or dignity, especially outside the strict control of royal heralds. Jean-René Barde, born in the Republic of Geneva, married with Jeanne Duret, daughter of Pierre Duret de la Plane.
A protestant merchant from Bordeaux
Seal stamp of the Barde family
Drawing by Lucie Barde
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While several variations of his coat of arms are known, this seal stamp belonged to General Charles-Étienne-François Ruty. Originally created Baron of the Empire, he was later elevated to Count in 1813. The engraving on this seal corresponds to the following blazon: « Parti d’azur au palmier d’or terrassé de même, et de gueules coupé par un trait d’or, chargé en chef du signe des comtes militaires et en pointe d’une étoile d’or », surmounted by the toque with five ostrich feathers assigned to counts of the Empire, and adorned with mantling and a star of the Legion of Honor. This collection also includes another seal that belonged to the general, showing a later form of his arms, enriched with the mantle of a Peer of France, a dignity Ruty received during the Bourbon Restoration. A third example, engraved with similar motifs, belonged to his son Anatole de Ruty, who likewise held the title of Peer of France.
Charles Etienne Francois Ruty
Arms of Baron Ruty, before he was elevated to Count of the Empire, and then Peer of France.
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This seal stamp most likely belonged to a member of the Bleyfuesz family of Belgium. The description found in the Armorial Général - a shield bearing a lion standing upon a mount of eight rounded hills, surmounted by a crowned helmet with a lion rising between two trumpets - corresponds closely to the engraving visible on the matrix. The Bleyfuesz family forms part of the modern Belgian nobility and was admitted with the hereditary title of écuyer (squire). According to the official register of contemporary Belgian noble families, the ennoblement was granted in 1857 by King Leopold I to Ferdinand-Joseph Bleyfuesz, who had served in the army of Emperor Napoleon I. The family originated in the Verviers–Dison region of the province of Liège, and its rise in status is associated with the industrial and manufacturing activities of the area, particularly the textile trade.
Description of the arms of the Bleyfuesz family in the Armorial Général de la Noblesse de Belgique
Fernand-Jacques Bleyfuesz, Ecuyer
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While the exact owner of this seal stamp cannot be identified yet, the engraving of the arms presents similaries with the Belgian family of viscounts de Spoelberch. The de Spoelberch family is one of Belgium’s longstanding noble houses, with documented ancestry reaching at least the 16th century. An act of 19 April 1535 cites Willem Spoelberchs. In Wespelaar , in the province of Flemish Brabant, the de Spoelberch estate remains important. The grounds were used to establish the Arboretum Wespelaar, opened to the public in 2011, and based on the family’s botanical collections. In modern times, the de Spoelberch family has been firmly integrated into Belgian industrial and commercial life, particularly via the brewing sector. The family combines traditional noble status and landed estates with modern roles in commerce and industry, by maintaining the historic castle of Wespelaar and by having transitioned into significant share-holding roles in major Belgian industrial enterprises.
Viscount Henri de Spoelberch
Arms of the de Spoelberch family in the Armorial General de Belgique
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This wax seal stamp belonged to Antoine-Simon Durrieu (1775–1862). The engraved coat of arms dates from the period when he was Chevalier of the Empire. Durrieu was a French general of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, later created Baron Durrieu and made Grand Cross of the Légion d’Honneur. His arms were later modified upon his elevation to the barony. He served with distinction in Italy, Egypt, Austria, Russia, and Spain, taking part in major battles such as Marengo, Wagram, Borodino, and Waterloo. His long career continued under the Restoration and July Monarchy, during which he commanded in Greece in the Morea expedition and sat in the Chamber of Peers. The pyramid in his arms alludes to his service in Egypt under Bonaparte, notably at the Battle of the Pyramids (1798), symbolizing both his valor and the campaign that forged the reputation of many officers later ennobled in Napoleon’s Empire. His name is inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Antoine-Simon Durrieu
Letter to the electorate of the Landes
Arms of Chevalier Antoine-Simon Durrieu
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When Antoine-Simon Durrieu was created Baron of the Empire on 30 June 1830, his coat of arms was accordingly modified to reflect his new dignity. The design engraved on this seal stamp shows the baronial coronet surmounting a shield divided per fess: above, a tower in flames and a sword upright beside an owl under a Maltese cross, and below, a pyramid upon a plain. Each element recalls a stage of his long career — the burning tower symbolizing his defence and assaults in Italy and Spain, the sword and cross his military honour, and the owl his vigilance and strategic prudence. The pyramid remained a lasting emblem of his early service in Egypt under Bonaparte. After 1830, Durrieu commanded the French expedition in Greece, entered the Chamber of Peers in 1845, and retired as a Grand Cross of the Légion d’honneur. His seal thus embodies both his elevation to nobility and the campaigns that defined his life of service.
Details of the arms of Baron Durrieu
Lt-Gen. Baron Antoine-Simon Durrieu
The modified arms of Baron Durrieu
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This is a wax seal stamp of the Boyle family, Earls of Cork, which was one of the most influential dynasties in early modern Ireland. The line was founded by Richard Boyle, who was a major landowner and political figure during the early seventeenth century. His estates, investment in towns, and support for economic development elevated the family to significant regional power. The Boyles played a central role in Irish and English political life, with successive earls serving in administrative, military, or parliamentary positions. Notable descendants included the scientist Robert Boyle, associated with the development of modern chemistry, and statesmen active in government in London. Through strategic marriages and steady accumulation of property, the family secured long-lasting influence. The Earls of Cork thus represent a prominent example of how personal ambition, land acquisition, and service to the Crown shaped the Anglo-Irish aristocracy.
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork
Coat of arms of the Boyle family
Robert Boyle, son of the 1st Earl of Cork
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While this wax sealing stamp was acquired from an antique dealer from Slovakia, it is engraved with the arms of the Ritter von Manner zu Mätzelsdorff family, who were from Austria. The family originates from the Austrian–Moravian lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, where its members belonged to the lesser nobility (Ritterstand), justifying the presence of the coronet with only five pearls above the shield. The “Ritter von” title indicates a formal ennoblement, most likely granted for military or administrative service to the Imperial authorities. From the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Manner family is documented as landowners in Moravia, notably at Bohdalice and Návojná, where they built and managed rural estates. They were integrated into the provincial aristocracy and maintained the social status typical of the Catholic Landadel of the Empire. Although no clear evidence places the family permanently in present-day Slovakia, movement across the Habsburg territories was common, especially for officers and officials. The presence of this seal in Slovakia therefore reflects the wider circulation of Imperial nobles rather than a specific Slovak origin.
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This is the wax seal stamp of General Michel Marie Claparède, Count of the Empire, who was born in 1772 into a bourgeois family of southern France, not of old nobility. He owed his rise entirely to merit and service, not lineage. His ennoblement therefore belongs to the Napoleonic creation of titles, not to ancient régime nobility. Under Napoleon, he became général de division and held important command and administrative posts. After 1814, unlike many former imperial generals, he successfully navigated the political transition and was accepted under the Bourbon Restoration. Claparède was created Count of the Empire (Comte) by Napoleon, a personal and hereditary title, rewarded for long and faithful service. Under the Restoration, his status was confirmed, and in 1819 he was made Pair de France, entering the upper chamber of the French legislature, an exceptional honor for a former imperial officer. He also served as Governor of the Château royal de Strasbourg (Palais Rohan).
Michel Marie Claparède
Arms of General Michel Claparède, Count of the l'Empire
General Claparède at the battle of Austerlitz, 1805
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This small stamp was bought from an antique dealer in Nice, France. But it could well originate from Italy. The silver base is nicely decorated with rosettes and beaded details. The owner of this seal has not yet been identified. The coat of arms is surmounted by a coronet with five leaves, consistent with a ducal coronet. The crest is an arm embowed holding a sword, a conventional symbol of martial readiness. On the shield, a horseshoe charged with a small cross is visible in base, but the upper charge remains difficult to identify with certainty due to wear.
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This seal stamp belonged to Count Charles-Gabriel Gudin de La Sablonnière (1798-1874), who was the son of Charles-Etienne, the famous General killed in Russia in 1812. Charles-Étienne Gudin de La Sablonnière (1768–1812) was by far the more important of the two. He was one of Napoleon’s most respected generals, a close companion from their youth, as well as a distinguished divisional commander of the Grande Armée. He fought in the major campaigns of the Revolution and the Empire and was mortally wounded during the Russian campaign in 1812. Napoleon deeply mourned his death, which secured Gudin’s lasting place in military history. His son, Charles-Gabriel, pursued a military career as well, but on a more modest scale. Serving under the July Monarchy and the Second Empire, he rose through the officer ranks and maintained the family’s military tradition without attaining the exceptional prominence of his father. Both were Counts of the Empire.
Général Charles-Étienne Gudin
Coat of arms of Gudin de la Sablonniere
Général Charles-Gabriel-Gudin
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While the owner of this seal stamp has not yet been identified, the composition of the engraved coat of arms is interesting. The shield is quartered and supported by two crowned griffins, and it is surmounted by a coronet of nine pearls. One quarter, Azure, shows an archangel, most likely Saint Michael. Another, Sable, depicts the Three Holy Marys in their boat. A third quarter bears a dragon on a Gules field, while the fourth seems to display a beehive with flying bees on a Vert background. The arms therefore combine the four principal heraldic colors.
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Gerry's Collection of Antique Seal Stamps.