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The Baltimore Enamel & Novelty Co.
Founded in 1898 as the Baltimore Enamel Company, this porcelain enamel giant
quickly positioned itself to become the largest manufacturing company of its kind
in the U.S. An important component of their success came from the manufacture
of license plates for states, cities, and counties across the United States.
Through luck or vision, Baltimore Enamel was able to secure the contract from
the state of Massachusetts to produce the first ever officially issued license
plates in the country. For a period of five years beginning in 1903, the company
produced an estimated 55,000 of these Massachusetts “Auto Registers” -
passenger, dealer, and motorcycle. The acquisition and successful completion of
this contract put Baltimore Enamel on the map as the company to beat in terms of
porcelain license plates. However, there was really nobody to compete with! By
1906, Baltimore Enamel had gone from having one state contract to holding a New
England monopoly, supplying Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island and Connecticut with plates. Before this first decade of the new
century was finished, Baltimore Enamel had further extended its reach into
Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – and even as far South as Alabama.
A notable feature of the early Baltimore Enamel plates is the distinctive hand-
enamelled date of manufacture system on the reverse. A two or three digit code
was painted on with enamel denoting the month and year that a given plate was
produced. Thus, a first issue Massachusetts plate may have a mark on the
reverse reading "106" (indicating a date of manufacture of October, 1906). All of
the first-issue New England plates, as well as early Philadelphia and Louisville
issues, bear these marks. At some point in late 1908/early 1909, this system was
abandoned in favor of the more familiar oval logo of the company which is so
familiar to license plate collectors.
By 1910, Baltimore Enamel maintained its hold on the market, with three state
contracts, a contract with the District of Columbia, and four city contracts,
including dated issues ordered by Valley City, North Dakota, the Westernmost
jurisdiction to have placed an order from the company to date. The Ingram-
Richardson company of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania had scored a bit of a coup of
its own by securing their home state’s contract to produce plates beginning in
1906. In addition, Ing-Rich also successfully bid on and won a few other contracts
here and there. However, Baltimore Enamel’s reign of supremacy was virtually
unchallenged at the dawn of the second decade. But although Ing-Rich and
other companies would get more aggressive and take some of the market share
from Baltimore Enamel in the years to come, they never could duplicate its
success. With sales offices in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, Baltimore
Enamel was always the king. Not even Ing-Rich could compete with the sheer
volume of porcelain license plates the company produced.
In 1911, Baltimore Enamel smartly got into the
business of providing some Florida counties with
plates, securing contracts with the city of
Jacksonville and South Jacksonville. By 1915, the
company was providing plates to no less than 10
different Florida jurisdictions. Baltimore Enamel
had developed such a reputation for the
manufacture of porcelain license plates that they
even received the contract from the county of
Honolulu, Hawaii to produce pairs of 1915 plates
and ship them 5,000 miles Westward. Interestingly,
however, the same year that this contract was
fulfilled – the same year that Baltimore Enamel held
so many contracts in Florida – was also the year
the company would begin its decline. This wasn’t
so much the company’s fault as it was a shift in the
available technology. Cheaper methods of
stamping metal had been perfected and porcelain
plates – initially a wise choice of material in terms
of cost – had become outmoded. This was a
devastating blow to the Baltimore Enamel and
Novelty company. Whereas the company was riding high in 1915 with at least 17
contracts – the most it had ever held at any one time – by 1916 the company
retained only a precious few.
BALTO continued to produce quality porcelain signs for decades to come. In
1937, for instance, officials in Frederick, Maryland hired Baltimore Enamel to
produce five porcelain signs to be placed along all major roads leading into the
city to call attention to the "historic shrines" of Frederick. The company took
one last shot at the production of porcelain license plates in 1941 when the state
of Delaware re-adopted porcelain for a brief period of time. But in spite of this
last gasp, Baltimore Enamel's great reign of supremacy over the porcelain license
plate manufacturing business ended in 1917.
In the end, Baltimore Enamel supplied porcelain license plates to at least 13
different states, and an amazing 30 different cities and counties throughout the
United States for a period of 15 years. During that span, the company produced
an estimated X plates in the satisfaction of the contracts it held. No other
company ever came close to this dominance.
FURTHER READING:
The Daily News (Frederick, MD) October 2, 1937.
quickly positioned itself to become the largest manufacturing company of its kind
in the U.S. An important component of their success came from the manufacture
of license plates for states, cities, and counties across the United States.
Through luck or vision, Baltimore Enamel was able to secure the contract from
the state of Massachusetts to produce the first ever officially issued license
plates in the country. For a period of five years beginning in 1903, the company
produced an estimated 55,000 of these Massachusetts “Auto Registers” -
passenger, dealer, and motorcycle. The acquisition and successful completion of
this contract put Baltimore Enamel on the map as the company to beat in terms of
porcelain license plates. However, there was really nobody to compete with! By
1906, Baltimore Enamel had gone from having one state contract to holding a New
England monopoly, supplying Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island and Connecticut with plates. Before this first decade of the new
century was finished, Baltimore Enamel had further extended its reach into
Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – and even as far South as Alabama.
A notable feature of the early Baltimore Enamel plates is the distinctive hand-
enamelled date of manufacture system on the reverse. A two or three digit code
was painted on with enamel denoting the month and year that a given plate was
produced. Thus, a first issue Massachusetts plate may have a mark on the
reverse reading "106" (indicating a date of manufacture of October, 1906). All of
the first-issue New England plates, as well as early Philadelphia and Louisville
issues, bear these marks. At some point in late 1908/early 1909, this system was
abandoned in favor of the more familiar oval logo of the company which is so
familiar to license plate collectors.
By 1910, Baltimore Enamel maintained its hold on the market, with three state
contracts, a contract with the District of Columbia, and four city contracts,
including dated issues ordered by Valley City, North Dakota, the Westernmost
jurisdiction to have placed an order from the company to date. The Ingram-
Richardson company of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania had scored a bit of a coup of
its own by securing their home state’s contract to produce plates beginning in
1906. In addition, Ing-Rich also successfully bid on and won a few other contracts
here and there. However, Baltimore Enamel’s reign of supremacy was virtually
unchallenged at the dawn of the second decade. But although Ing-Rich and
other companies would get more aggressive and take some of the market share
from Baltimore Enamel in the years to come, they never could duplicate its
success. With sales offices in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, Baltimore
Enamel was always the king. Not even Ing-Rich could compete with the sheer
volume of porcelain license plates the company produced.
In 1911, Baltimore Enamel smartly got into the
business of providing some Florida counties with
plates, securing contracts with the city of
Jacksonville and South Jacksonville. By 1915, the
company was providing plates to no less than 10
different Florida jurisdictions. Baltimore Enamel
had developed such a reputation for the
manufacture of porcelain license plates that they
even received the contract from the county of
Honolulu, Hawaii to produce pairs of 1915 plates
and ship them 5,000 miles Westward. Interestingly,
however, the same year that this contract was
fulfilled – the same year that Baltimore Enamel held
so many contracts in Florida – was also the year
the company would begin its decline. This wasn’t
so much the company’s fault as it was a shift in the
available technology. Cheaper methods of
stamping metal had been perfected and porcelain
plates – initially a wise choice of material in terms
of cost – had become outmoded. This was a
devastating blow to the Baltimore Enamel and
Novelty company. Whereas the company was riding high in 1915 with at least 17
contracts – the most it had ever held at any one time – by 1916 the company
retained only a precious few.
BALTO continued to produce quality porcelain signs for decades to come. In
1937, for instance, officials in Frederick, Maryland hired Baltimore Enamel to
produce five porcelain signs to be placed along all major roads leading into the
city to call attention to the "historic shrines" of Frederick. The company took
one last shot at the production of porcelain license plates in 1941 when the state
of Delaware re-adopted porcelain for a brief period of time. But in spite of this
last gasp, Baltimore Enamel's great reign of supremacy over the porcelain license
plate manufacturing business ended in 1917.
In the end, Baltimore Enamel supplied porcelain license plates to at least 13
different states, and an amazing 30 different cities and counties throughout the
United States for a period of 15 years. During that span, the company produced
an estimated X plates in the satisfaction of the contracts it held. No other
company ever came close to this dominance.
FURTHER READING:
The Daily News (Frederick, MD) October 2, 1937.
| BALTO advertisement from "The American City" (1913), illustrating numerous items the company manufactures, including license plates from Maryland, New Hampshire, and Vermont |
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1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 |
| Massachusetts state plates Massachusetts state plates Rhode Island state plates Connecticut state plates Maine state plates Massachusetts state plates New Hampshire state plates Rhode Island state plates Vermont state plates Connecticut state plates Maine state plates Massachusetts state plates New Hampshire state plates Philadelphia, Pennsylvania city plates Rhode Island state plates Vermont state plates Virginia state plates Connecticut state plates Maine state plates Massachusetts state plates New Hampshire state plates Rhode Island state plates Vermont state plates Virginia state plates West Virginia state plates Connecticut state plates Maine state plates New Hampshire state plates Rhode Island state plates Vermont state plates Virginia state plates West Virginia state plates Birmingham, Alabama city plates Mobile, Alabama city plates Montgomery, Alabama city plates Connecticut state plates District of Columbia plates Louisville, Kentucky city plates Maine state plates Massachusetts state plates New Hampshire state plates Vermont state plates West Virginia state plates New Britain, Connecticut milk licenses District of Columbia plates 1910 Georgia pre-state / salesman's sample? Paducah, Kentucky city plates Louisville, Kentucky city plates Valley City, North Dakota city plates Maine state plates Massachusetts state plates New Hampshire state plates Vermont state plates Mobile, Alabama city plates District of Columbia plates Jacksonville, Florida city plates - excluding cycles (1910-11) South Jacksonville, Florida (date estimated) Louisville, Kentucky city plates Monroe, Louisiana city plates Maryland state plates Maine state plates Vermont state plates Virginia state plates New Britain, Connecticut milk licenses Delaware state plates District of Columbia plates Jacksonville, Florida city plates Volusia, Florida county plates Maryland state plates Vermont state plates Virginia state plates District of Columbia plates Brevard, Florida county plates Jacksonville, Florida city plates St. Lucie, Florida county plates Maryland state plates New Hampshire state plates North Carolina state plates El Reno, Oklahoma city plates (1912-13) Richland, South Carolina city plates (estimated date) Vermont state plates Alabama state plates Delaware state plates (both types) District of Columbia plates Brevard, Florida county plates Dade, Florida county plates Suwanee, Florida county plates Maine state plates New Hampshire state plates North Carolina state plates (1913-14) Orangeburg, South Carolina city plates (estimated date) Richland, South Carolina city plates (estimated date) Tennessee Pre-States (at least two different variations) New Britain, Connecticut milk licenses Delaware state plates District of Columbia plates Alachua, Florida county plates Bradford, Florida county plates Brevard, Florida county plates Dade, Florida county plates Escambia, Florida county plates Hillsborough, Florida county plates Lee, Florida county plates Leon, Florida county plates St. Lucie, Florida county plates Tampa, Florida city plates Georgia state plates Honolulu, Hawaii county plates North Carolina state plates (1914-15) Raleigh, North Carolina city plates (1914-15) Wheeling, West Virginia city plates District of Columbia plates Fernandina, Florida city plates (estimated date) New Hampshire state plates (plates unmarked) North Carolina state plates (1915-16) Barnwell, South Carolina city plates (estimated date) Darlington, South Carolina city plates (estimated date) Sumter, South Carolina city plates (estimated date) District of Columbia plates |
| CONTRACTS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN HELD BY BALTIMORE ENAMEL |
| Reverse of MA 1904 |
| Reverse of VT 1909 |
| Reverse of MA 1907 |
| Reverse of MA 1906 Dealer |
| Reverse of Philadelphia 1906 |
| Large porcelain promotional sign, circa 1930s |
| Standard Oval Logo |
EXAMPLES OF PLATES MANUFACTURED BY BALTIMORE ENAMEL ______________ 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 |
BALTO Advertisement in "The American City" (1915) trumpeting the fact that Honolulu ordered plates from them that year |
This 1930 ad from the "National Petroleum News" still praises the quality of BALTO products, although at this point license plates were a thing of the distant past for them. |
FOR A COMPREHENSIVE STATE-BY-STATE LISTING OF ALL KNOWN CODES USED BY BALTIMORE ENAMEL, PLEASE CLICK HERE: BALTO CODES ARCHIVE |