Edward Low Flag - 1723 - Pirate Wax Seal Stamp

Edward Low Flag, Red Skeleton Emblem - 1723 - Historical Wax Seal Stamp

Wax seal stamp based on the distinctive black and red flag associated with Edward Low, one of the best-documented pirate captains operating during the later Golden Age of Piracy.

Edward Low, also known in period accounts as Ned Low, was an English pirate active principally between 1722 and 1723. Originally from Westminster, he later worked in the maritime trades around Boston before joining a voyage to the Bay of Honduras.

According to A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724, Low and a small group of companions took possession of a vessel and made a black flag before beginning their independent career at sea. He subsequently operated along the North American coast, through the Caribbean, around the Azores and across Atlantic trading routes.

By 1722 Low commanded the schooner Fancy and later operated several vessels with a sizeable company. Period accounts record his ships using black colours during encounters with merchant vessels, providing contemporary evidence for the use of distinctive pirate flags by his crew.

The flag represented by this stamp is particularly significant because its appearance is explicitly described in A General History of the Pyrates. In July 1723, after taking command of the large ship Merry Christmas, Low is recorded as raising a black flag bearing a red skeletal figure at the main-topmast.

Unlike many elaborate pirate flags that were assigned to individual captains much later, the central features of Low’s design therefore have a near-contemporary written source dating from only a year after the events described.

The simple contrast of a red skeletal figure against a black field makes the design unusually distinctive among early 18th-century pirate colours and has become closely associated with Edward Low in later maritime history.

A General History of the Pyrates remains one of the principal early sources for Low’s career. While historians treat some of its colourful stories cautiously, its description of the 1723 flag provides valuable period evidence for the emblem associated with his ship.

Design: Red skeletal figure on black field
Person: Edward Low / Ned Low
Date: 1723
Period: Golden Age of Piracy
Vessels: Fancy / Merry Christmas
Source: A General History of the Pyrates, 1724
Source Basis: Near-contemporary written description
Stamp Size: 30 mm
Material: Solid brass
Type: Wax seal stamp / sealing stamp

Each stamp is made of solid brass, fitted with a wooden handle and presented in a velvet pouch.

Suitable for letters, envelopes, maritime collections, historical displays, nautical-themed stationery, pirate collections and decorative sealing.

A personal quotation attributed directly to Low is preserved in A General History of the Pyrates. While sharing a bowl of punch with the captured Captain Graves, Low reportedly said:

“Captain Graves, here’s half this to you.” — Edward Low