Sealing wax

Sealing wax is a wax material which, after melting, hardens quickly, forming a seal that is difficult to break without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to verify that something such as a document is unopened, to verify the sender's identity, and as decoration. Sealing wax can also be used to take impressions of other seals.

Wax was used to seal letters close and later, from about the 16th century, envelopes.
Long before sealing wax was employed, the Romans used bitumen for this purpose.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

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