Pre-1918 Vehicle Registrations and License Plates

Introduction
Putting The Plates In Context
Aug. 1903-Oct. 1907: The Prestate Era
Oct. 1907-Dec. 1917: The Porcelain Era

 

Introduction

On this page and a separate one upon which we will soon (hopefully by the end of Jan. 2009) address the oft-asked question about which registration numbers were issued annually from 1907 through 1917 (we still don't know, by the way), we have presented everything that we've been able to learn about what happened in the District of Columbia regarding motor vehicle registrations before uniform, dated annual plates were introduced as of January 1, 1918. We have tried to be as clear as possible as to what information is known with certainty, what is assumed based upon reasonably reliable evidence, and what is pure speculation due to a lack of credible evidence. The bases of estimates made are explained, and we suggest that you read and understand these estimates before relying upon conclusions drawn from them, especially with respect to registration numbers assigned annually.

Unfortunately, there is little reliable information about the registration of vehicles in D.C. during this era; less, in fact, than what may be found for many of the states. The District of Columbia required registration very early, in 1903, earlier than all nearby jurisdictions and a full decade earlier that some of the states. States that adopted vehicle-related regulations in later years usually relied heavily on laws already on the books in other states, but the pioneer jurisdictions, including D.C., crafted their own regulations based largely on trial and error.

In early 2009 we hope to begin conducting new research aimed at answering some of the common questions about D.C. vehicle registrations of this period. Presented on these pages today is simply an interpretation of data that has been available for many years. As new research is undertaken we hope to be able to modify the information that follows to provide greater detail and answer some nagging questions.

Putting The Plates in Context

A variety of factors contributed to the need of local and state governments at the dawn of the twentieth century to tax and regulate the use of motor vehicles and their operators. In September 1893 the nation's first practical (by standards of the day) self-propelled machine was operated on the streets of Springfield, Mass., by Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea. Four years later, no less than four companies were organized for the purpose of producing motorized vehicles. Although these early cars were crude, often little more than the chassis and body of a horse-drawn buggy with an engine installed, within a decade cars were large and fast enough that they began to take a serious toll on roads designed for slower, more gentle traffic powered by oats rather than gasoline, steam, and electric batteries. Revenue needed to be raised to fund road maintenance and construction, and the increasing number of vehicles needed to be tracked. Registration was the answer, and license plates soon followed.

In April of 1901, New York became the first state to require that vehicles be registered, but motorists were required to make or otherwise procure their own markers (first with their initials, later with assigned numbers). Like D.C., a registration law took effect in Massachusetts in 1903, although that state provided uniform plates, the nation's first state-issue plates, to motorists. In 1904 Rhode Island became the second state to require registration and provide uniform plates, and other states, mostly in the Northeast, followed in the ensuing years. By the end of 1910 state-issue plates were provided to vehicle owners in 19 of the 46 states, and five years later motorists in 44 of the 48 states received uniform plates when registering their vehicles.

In the early twentieth century the United States and its cities, including Washington, were far different places than they are today, and the way in which motor vehicles were used and thought of was completely different. Quite simply, from 1903 through at least the mid-1910s automobiles were not looked upon as a means of regular transportation, and horse-drawn vehicles still reigned supreme.

News of the “automobilists” was first covered in the sports section of the local newspaper. Later, most papers dedicated a separate section, usually in their Sunday edition, to stories and advertisements that appealed to those engaged in what was still a pastime, a diversion. Most people that had cars used them only during the portion of the year that the weather was warm, for the first practical and affordable closed car did not debut until the early 1920s, and open cars (touring cars and roadsters) were, well, open to the elements. In the early years there were no gas stations, of course, so fuel was typically purchased at a hardware store or similar supplier. Very little of what today we associate with automobiles, such as good roads, durable tires, and safety features designed into vehicles existed during the period herein addressed. Therefore, to truly understand and make sense of vehicle registrations a century ago we need to make a conscious effort to not to correlate vehicles today, how we use and think of them and how they fit into our culture, with vehicles of 100 (and more) years ago.

Today's license plate collectors try to classify plates by their year of issue (or sometimes their year of expiration), which presents a problem when considering pre-1918 D.C. plates. Not only are records not known as to which numbers were assigned annually, but in the historical context of these plates being issued and used this really is a moot point. Remember that vehicles themselves were a product of new technology and not part of the popular culture. Registrations were a completely new idea, and never in D.C. were they thought of as relating to a particular time period. Registrations and plates used from 1903 through late 1907 and again from late 1907 through 1917 were considered permanent. They were never associated with a calendar year, fiscal year, or other time period, and the expiration of a registration was not a consideration: it simply never happened (at least not until 1917).

Although nearby states issued annual registrations and plates during portions of D.C.'s permanent plate era (Maryland introduced annual, dated plates in 1910, Virginia in 1906, Pennsylvania in 1906, and Delaware in 1909), D.C. residents didn't have to think about annual registrations, plates, and fees, and some may not have even know about them until 1918. It is true that due to a lack of registration reciprocity among these jurisdictions motorists that traveled outside of the District had to also register their vehicles in states in which they regularly traveled, so most probably did know about annual registration procedures, but the concept was never applied within Washington until relatively late. Therefore, some could argue that the value of our attempts to associate a particular calendar year with plates used in D.C. from 1903 through 1917 is negligible.

Aug. 1903-Oct. 1907: The Prestate Era

Automobiles owned by District of Columbia residents were first required to be registered, and their operators licensed, under a city police regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “motor vehicle law” or simply “the law”) that took effect in August 1903. For each registered vehicle a number was assigned but no license plates were provided, rather it was up to each motorist to display the number on the back of his or her vehicle in accordance with the law. Usually they made their own, sometimes they assembled one from a commercially-available kit, and occasionally they painted the number directly on their vehicle. This system of vehicle identification lasted just over four years, until October 1907.

The District's First Motor Vehicle Law

Throughout the twentieth century (and still today), all legal and regulatory authority in Washington, including the registration of vehicles and licensing of their operators, was vested in Congress, and all funds required for operation of the city's government were Congressionally appropriated. In other words, even though Washingtonians have no voting representation in Congress, that body has always been its equivalent of a state's legislature. Both the House and Senate have committees that, through their power, facilitate day-to-day operations of city government. In 1903 these operational functions were the responsibility of a Board of Commissioners, its three members being appointed by the president and confirmed by Congress. (Since 1974 an elected mayor and city council have administered city government. Information about the operational structure of the D.C. government since 1790 is provided here.)

Unlike what typically occurred in the states when vehicles first needed to be regulated, there was no need for Congress to pass a law to address this matter because it was the opinion of the D.C. Commissioners and Corporation Counsel that sufficient authority to enact such regulations was already vested in the Commissioners through the police power. Accordingly, on May 3, 1903, the Commissioners drafted regulations calling for the registration of automobiles and licensing of their operators, and they simultaneously appointed an Automobile Board to execute provisions of the law. Like all regulations adopted by Commissioners, the motor vehicle law was to take effect after a mandatory Congressional review period. That period ended, apparently without Congressional comment, on August 29, 1903. The first registrations were then assigned based upon provisions of the law.

No fee was charged for vehicle registration under the 1903 law, which is unusual because in the states the registration fee was (and still is) essentially a user tax to fund capital projects that together comprise a jurisdiction's road transportation infrastructure. Whereas in some states no provision was made in the earliest vehicle-related laws for the licensing of drivers, such a provision is included in D.C.'s 1903 law. In fact, D.C. residents that wished to obtain a permit to operate motor vehicles had to appear personally before the Automobile Board in order that their competence could be ascertained.

Immediately after adoption of the auto regulations, some vehicle owners challenged the Commissioners in court on the basis that the city government lacked sufficient authority from Congress to regulate the use of automobiles. The courts refused to render an injunction, ruling in favor of the District government and affirming its right to issue registrations and driver permits under the police power.

In its August 29 edition, the Evening Star seemed hopeful that the motor vehicle law taking effect that day would alleviate unpleasant encounters between autoists and non-autoists in Washington:

“The amalgamated association of automobile dodgers, which includes in its membership almost every person in the District who does not own or have an interest in a motor-propelled vehicle, excepting street cars and locomotives, breathed with freedom today, it is presumed, for the first time since the smooth asphalted streets of the nation's capital became the stamping grounds for the “devil” wagon. After many months of patient waiting on the part of pedestrians, the powers that rule in this jurisdiction have proclaimed official war on the scorchers and have promulgated regulations which become effective today, and which requires the automobilist to have a license and some visible means of identification.”

Prestate License Plates and Registrations

As occurred in many states, the earliest, owner-provided license plates used in the District of Columbia took many forms, most often leather pads with metal house numbers attached. The only requirements as to the manner in which registration number was to be displayed is that the figures had to be at least 3” high with a stroke (the width of lines comprising the numbers) of at least 3/8”.

The 1903 motor vehicle law required only the display of the registration number, not any indication that the vehicle was based in the District of Columbia. At the Automobile Board's first meeting it was recommended that “DC” be displayed adjacent to the registration number, but it was not until October 29, 1904, that the law was amended to require this feature. The change is reflected in this version of Article XXIV, Section 2 of what is presumably the Police Regulations of the District of Columbia, which provided vehicle owners with guidance in their preparation of a single license plate for each of their vehicles:

“Each machine shall be identified by a number, which shall be conspicuously displayed upon the rear of the vehicle, so as to be plainly visible, the figures to be separate Arabic numerals not less than three inches high, and the strokes not less than three-eights of an inch in width; and also as a part of such number the initial letters D.C. (placed perpendicularly after the numerals) each letter to be not less than one inch in height. Numbers shall not be transferred from one vehicle to another, nor shall machine numbers be loaned from one person to another, nor shall fictitious numbers be used.”

Contrary to information published previously to the effect that the lowest assigned D.C. registration number during this period was 100, in fact numbers are known to have been assigned sequentially beginning at 1. The Automobile Register and Road Book for Maryland, District of Columbia, and Adjacent Territory published in 1906 by the Automobile Register Co., of Baltimore, lists 862 registrations with the lowest and highest numbers being 2 and 2136, respectively. Note that only 40% of the first 2,136 registrations were still valid by whatever point in (presumably) 1906 the data was compiled for publication. Of the 862 registrations, 771 (89%) were assigned to individuals and entities that listed a D.C. address as their address of record. The remaining 91 (11%) listed addresses in the states, most in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast but including one from Alabama and another from Chicago.

With only a few exceptions all of the registrations listed in the 1906 book appear to have been assigned to individuals. There appears to have been a distinct interest in the lowest numbers, 1-99, for 63 of them were still in use whereas from number 100 through 999 the average number of listed registrations in each 100-number block (100-199, 200-299, etc.) is 48. Presumably registrations above 100 that became invalid due to the sale of the vehicle to which they were initially assigned were not reissued, in accordance with the motor vehicle law, but numbers below 100 were apparently perceived as being desirable such that exceptions to the law appear to have been made by reassigning them.

Annual reports of the Automobile Board indicate that 2,463 vehicle registrations were issued from Aug. 29, 1903, through Sept. 30, 1907. As for which numbers were assigned during annually, up to approximately 600 registrations are believed to have been assigned during the final 125 days of 1903. Numbers issued from the beginning of 1904 through the end of Sept. 1907 are as follows: 1904, c.600-994; 1905, 995-1510; 1906, 1511-2037, and 1907, 2038-2463. During this period, no distinction, for purposes of registration, is known to have been made between vehicles of various types.

Oct. 1907-Dec. 1917: The Porcelain Era

The District government required that all vehicles in use in the fall of 1907 be re-registered, evidence of compliance being shown with an undated white-on-black porcelain enamel plate provided to each motorist by the Automobile Board for a $1 plate fee. This fee was doubled in 1908, apparently as of April 1, where it remained through the end of 1917. There was no registration fee throughout this era.

D.C. 1907-17 porcelain plates could legally be displayed only on the vehicle to which they were first assigned, which is to say they could not be transferred to another vehicle or individual. When a vehicle was sold its new owner had to purchase a new plate, and the individual selling the vehicle could not transfer the registration and plate to a different vehicle.

Although relatively minor design changes were made during the 10-year life of this issue, there was indeed only a single issue of plates during this period. When most states in which vehicles were registered were issuing dated plates annually, D.C. stuck to this one undated plate, perhaps because there still was no annual registration renewal transaction or fee. This era ended when a series of annual, dated, embossed steel plates began to be issued for 1918, at which time registration fees began to be charged.

Auto Plates of The Porcelain Era

The curtain closed on the District's homemade plate era at the end of October 1907. A September 15, 1907, article in the Star-News in which the availability of the first District-issued plates was announced indicated that the new plates were being issued because there was too little uniformity in plates displayed during the past several years, and that some operators “pick[ed] numbers to suit themselves.” Replacing the variety of owner-provided markers were uniform, white-on-black undated porcelain plates, issued singly, that were provided by the D.C. government and used for ten years. They were first issued on Oct. 8, 1907, and all holders of existing registrations received one during October. There are two distinct versions of this plate, the difference being evident in the height of letters used to print DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA across the top, with more subtle differences existing in both style.

The first 2,500 D.C. porcelain plates are numbered 1 through 2500 and are characterized by a relatively light gauge of iron and thin layer of enamel as opposed to later D.C. porcelain plates, are 6” high and 10” wide, and have DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA printed in letters one-half inch high. They are described in the aforementioned Star-News article as a “very credible and practical sign.”

On the back of each plate is an advertisement for the Washington company of Lamb & Tilden, located at 723 13th St., NW. The message promotes brass automobile name plates, a popular accessory of the day made by many companies, apparently including Lamb & Tilden. Because the only way that auto manufacturers identified their products at the time was a small badge affixed to the top of the radiator, it was a popular custom for motorists to display the maker's name with a large, brass nameplate affixed diagonally to the radiator, usually in a script font (so that a name could be displayed with a single piece, not individual letters). These nameplates were stencil-cut so as to not obstruct air flow to the radiator.

Lamb & Tilden's message also promotes its role as a supplier of “stamps and attachments for license plates; rubber and metal stamps;” and “seals, stencils, etc.” In the days before bumper stickers, embossed metal plates with names of municipalities and political candidates, for example, were commonly attached above or below a vehicle's license plate, or otherwise mounted to vehicles, and badges and club insignias were also often similarly displayed. Lamb & Tilden was apparently in the business of supplying these types of items to the motoring public. Whether they produced or supplied the first Washington, D.C. license plates is unknown. The manufacture of porcelain plates and signs was a labor- and capital-intensive process, so based upon the company not being known to have ever produced any other vehicle registration plates and because porcelain goods of any kind are not mentioned in the advertisement, it is assumed that they were not a porcelain plate manufacturer. It seems more likely, then, that being in the business of identification products in Washington, that they acted as a manufacturer's agent to supply plates to the D.C. government.

Despite past reports that registration numbers of this era were assigned beginning at 100, there appears to be no question that they were in fact issued starting at 1.

The next batch of D.C. porcelain plates, those numbered through 9999 and presumably beginning at 3101 (because registration (but not necessarily plate) numbers 2501 through 3100 were set aside for assignment to motorcycle owners, as discussed below), retain all visible characteristics of the Lamb & Tilden plates but were made by the Baltimore Enamel & Novelty Co., of Baltimore, Maryland. This company, which made porcelain plates for a number of the states, imprinted its logo on the back of each plate. Unlike the earlier plates, these and later plates have grommets affixed to the four small holes in the corners.

Plates numbered from 10000 through about 19900 were identical to the previous batch, including Baltimore Enamel and Novelty's seal on the back, except that the length was increased from 10” to 12” to accommodate the fifth digit in the number. Interestingly, these plates are the same dimensions, 6”x12”, as modern North American plates.

At some point between plates numbered 19840 and 19968 the height of letters used to display DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA was doubled to one inch. Number 19840 is the highest know plate to have the small letters and 19968 the lowest with larger letters. It is reasonable to assume that the change was made with plate 19900 or 19901, but the exact change point is uncertain.

D.C. porcelain plates continued to be made by Baltimore Enamel & Novelty until the high 20000 series, when we find a small batch made by the other prominent porcelain plate manufacturer of this era, Ingram-Richardson Co., of Beaver Falls, Pa. The highest observed plate made by Baltimore Enamel & Novelty is 27417 and the lowest made by Ingram-Richardson is 29235, so the change was made at some point between these numbers. The switch back to plates made (presumably, as discussed in the following paragraph) by Baltimore Enamel & Novelty occurred at some point between numbers 30876, the highest-number plate know to have been made by Ingram-Richardson, and 35340, the lowest thought to have been produced by Baltimore Enamel & Novelty. Therefore, we know that Ingram-Richardson made at least 1,641 plates and no more than 7,923. Perhaps it made a batch of 5,000 plates, maybe from 28000 through 33000 or 29000 through 34000.

Plates with numbers higher than those marked as having been made by Ingram-Richardson are not marked as to their maker, although they have one distinguishing characteristic (other than the number) to set them apart from the Ingram-Richardson and earlier plates: the back is covered in black porcelain enamel, not white as on all previous D.C. porcelain plates. This common characteristic leads us to conclude that they all were made by a single manufacturer. Newspaper accounts of 1916, by which time the black-back plates were being issued, indicate that D.C. plates were being ordered from “a Baltimore firm” but do not specify the manufacturer. It is reasonable to assume that this company is Baltimore Enamel & Novelty due to its prominence in this business in general, its having previously made D.C. plates, and the lack of another porcelain plate manufacturer in Baltimore.

The highest number made and highest number issued are both unknown. The highest documented plate number is 64180, which it is reasonable to assume was issued near the end of 1917.

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Click here to see images of District of Columbia porcelain license plates in use.

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Motorcycle Plates of The Porcelain Era

Records of the Automobile Board indicate that there were only two types of plates issued during the porcelain era: passenger and motorcycle. Vehicle dealers and owners of commercial vehicles and taxis received plates from the same series used for privately-owned cars.

Annual reports prepared by the Automobile Board indicate that motorcycle registrations were issued right from the start of the porcelain era, in October 1907. However, based upon an analysis of data published in the Automobile Board's Report to the Commissioners for the year ended June 30, 1908, it appears that license plates were not provided to motorcycle owners until April 1, 1908. If this is true, Form Oct. 1907 through March 1908 cyclists were likely compelled to provide their own plate or paint their assigned number directly on their machine.

A 1912 D.C. registration listing book, The Automobile Register of the District of Columbia (fourth edition, copyright 1912), indicates that registration numbers 2501 through 3100 had been set aside and “Issued to motorcycle owners only.” We believe that this confirms that the first batch of D.C. porcelain auto plates was numbered through 2500, and that while those numbers were being assigned for use on passenger cars beginning in October 1907, motorcycles being registered were being assigned numbers starting at 2501, although presumably without a license plate.

It appears that license plates began to be provided to motorcycle owners as of April 1, 1908, because that is when the $2 plate fee began to be collected from these individuals. Presumably the registration numbers were from the 2501-3100 block discussed in the previous paragraph. Whether the plates were full-size (6”x10”) or specially made in some other format is unknown. However, in it's 1908-1909 Report to the Commissioners, the Automobile Board reports having purchased during that fiscal year “1,278 tags 6 by 10 inches for motor vehicles and 222 tags 4 by 7 inches for motor cycles.” It seems reasonable to assume that shortly after 6”x10” plates began to be issued to cyclists in the spring of 1908 (we are assuming that by this time plates with numbers higher than 2500 had been procured) it was determined that they were inappropriate for use on motorcycles, so a supply of special, smaller plates was purchased. None of these miniature D.C. porcelain motorcycle plates are known to exist today. Alternatively, it is possible that small plates suitable for use on motorcycles had been purchased in time for issuance on April 1, 1908, but that their purchase simply was not documented in the Automobile Board's Annual Report of that year.

The 5000 series of registration numbers (5000-5999) is also missing from the aforementioned 1912 listing book but the reason for its omission is not indicated. No 5000-series 6”x12” D.C. porcelain plates are known to exist today. However, a single white-on-red, vertical-format porcelain plate with number 5627 and the letters “DC” at the bottom suggests that the 5000 series had in fact been set aside for and was used for motorcycle plates. Because no 5000-series numbers had apparently been assigned before the 1912 book went to press, we believe that numbers in the 2501-3100 block were still available at that time. Plate no. 5627 is curved from top to bottom so as to be more easily displayed on the rear fender of a motorcycle, and this style of cycle plate was used in other jurisdictions during this era.

Two higher-numbered white-on-red porcelain motorcycle plates marked “DC” are also known, numbers 12612 and 13609. Therefore, it appears that another block of numbers, perhaps 12000 or 12500 through 13500 (because 13992 is known in the standard 6”x12” white-on-black format), was set aside for use with motorcycle registrations. These fender-style plates are curved not only from top to bottom, but also from side to side.

As we collect additional data about existing full-size D.C. porcelain plates and analyze later annual reports of the Automobile Board we expect to be able to refine and improve information about pre-1918 Washington, D.C. motorcycle license plates.

Estimate of Registration Numbers Assigned Annually, 1907-1917

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