Page3Corporate Seals are official identifying marks that are imprinted into clay, wax, or metal. The first use of seals appeared in Mesopotamia around 4000 BC. From the time of early European influence, seals were a part of Canadian administrative life. Seals represent power and authority and were used as signatures are today: to authenticate a document.
In Canada, it is believed that municipal governments did not begin using Corporate Seals until the nineteenth century. However, Saint John became incorporated in 1785. In the nineteenth century a new emblematic approach developed, one often inspired by technical innovations connected with the Industrial Revolution or by Canadian subjects such as a maple leaf and a beaver.
Seals of Corporate Bodies in Canada's History
Seal of the Parlement de Grenoble |
Seal of the Court for Probate of Wills, Nova Scotia. |
Seal of Quebec. |
Examples of Seals of Sovereign Authority
Seal of the Conseil superieur of New France |
Great Seal of Charles I, as King of Scotland, Reverse |
All pages © Heritage Resources and
New Brunswick Community College - Saint John.
