Emanuel Wynne Flag, Skull Crossbones and Hourglass - 1700 - Pirate Wax Seal Stamp

Emanuel Wynne Flag, Skull Crossbones and Hourglass - 1700 - Historical Wax Seal Stamp

Wax seal stamp based on the flag of Emanuel Wynne, a French pirate active around the turn of the 18th century and associated with one of the earliest securely recorded forms of the Jolly Roger.

Very little is known about Wynne himself, but one encounter in 1700 secured his place in maritime history. On 18 July that year, Captain John Cranby of HMS Poole reported encountering Wynne’s vessel near the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa.

Cranby pursued Wynne towards Brava Island, where the pirate vessel sheltered in a cove. Although assistance was sought from Portuguese forces ashore, Wynne was ultimately able to escape.

More importantly, Cranby left an eyewitness description of the flag displayed by Wynne’s ship. He described a black ensign bearing crossed bones, a skull and an hourglass.

This 1700 Admiralty report is widely regarded as the earliest known eyewitness account of the familiar skull-and-crossbones form of pirate flag being flown aboard a vessel. Earlier pirates certainly used black, red and other flags, and skull imagery existed before Wynne, but his flag provides one of the earliest securely documented combinations that closely resembles what would later become known as the Jolly Roger.

The hourglass is an especially distinctive element. It belonged to a wider tradition of early modern memento mori imagery, where hourglasses represented the passing of time. Combined with the skull and crossed bones, it created a simple and immediately recognisable emblem.

Unlike many famous pirate flags whose association with particular captains developed much later, the essential features of Wynne’s flag come directly from a contemporary eyewitness report. This makes the design particularly interesting as an historically grounded reconstruction of an early pirate flag.

Design: Skull, crossed bones and hourglass
Person: Emanuel Wynne / Emmanuel Wynne
Date: 1700
Period: Early Golden Age of Piracy
Location Recorded: Cape Verde Islands
Historical Source: Captain John Cranby, HMS Poole
Source Basis: Contemporary eyewitness description
Stamp Size: 30 mm
Material: Solid brass
Type: Wax seal stamp / sealing stamp

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

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