Bishop Selwyn’s seal came up for auction in Auckland
The brass seal of Bishop George Augustus Selwyn came up for auction in Auckland. This is the same (or an identical) seal that was used by the bishop on official documents, and many wax impressions of the seal are still attached to trust deeds in our archives. It measures 75mm by 50mm. Normally only one seal would be in existence, and any discarded through a fault in the manufacture defaced.
At first, they were only used for securing the document from impertinent curiosity and the seal was commonly attached to the ties with which it was fastened. When the letter was opened by the addressee the seal was necessarily broken. Later the seal served as authentication and was attached to the face of the document. The deed was thus only held to be valid so long as the seal remained intact. In times past, the seal was broken when the authority passed into new hands, with a new seal being made for the new bishop or another person.
Research by the Reverend Warren Limbrick shows that the seal’s leather case has the name “Wyon” printed on it, engravers based in Regent Street, London. Wyons were the Chief Engravers of Her Majesty’s Seals. It was probably engraved by, or under the direction of Benjamin Wyon, R.A. (1802–58) who was appointed Chief Engraver to the Seals on 10 January 1831. He crafted the Great Seal of King William IV (1831-37) in 1831, and a commemorative medal for the jubilee of the Church Missionary Society in 1848. Benjamin Wyon also designed the first Public Seal of New Zealand under Lt. Governor Hobson, which was sent out to this colony in 1841.
It is unfortunate that at a time unknown this seal passed out of Church hands. While it would normally be expected that a seal remained with a diocese following the retirement of a bishop, Selwyn was known to have taken various other items back to England including the manuscript volume “The Acts of the Bishop”, so it is likely that the seal went with him also.
Research continues to attempt to track the story of the seal after it left the Bishop’s possession.
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