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Hawaii Non-Porcelain
Pre-Territorial Archive
Pre-Territorial Archive
TOTAL KNOWN PRE-TERRITORIAL VARIETIES: 11
I: TERRITORIALLY-ISSUED AUTOMOBILE TAGS (1912-1921)
Hawaii's first automobile law was passed in 1903, but it was not until 1911 that a
new law was passed first requiring some form of physical license to be attached
to the vehicle. Rather than formal license plates, however, The Territory of
Hawaii instead began the issuance of small dashboard discs, or Automobile Tags -
also known as "TH Tags." This new law became effective in 1912, and the
"TH Tags" were issued from 1912 to 1921. It should be emphasized that the
Territory of Hawaii at no point prior to 1922 ever required actual license plates to
be placed on vehicles. That was left to the four individual counties, as will be
discussed below in Section II.
The first "TH Tag" was a round aluminum disc which was followed in later years by
brass tags of various shapes, some very distinctive (Check out the photos below
and remember you can click on the thumbnails for larger, more detailed photos).
These tags were separate from the homemade or standardized county license
plates that were also required during this time period. In three of the four
Hawaiian counties (Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui), these tags never had any direct
association with the plates. Honolulu followed suit all the way up to 1917, but
beginning in 1918, this one county decided to manufacture plates with a space on
them for the Territorial Automobile Tag to be mounted right on the plate.
Sometimes the number on the tag matched the plate, sometimes it did not, and it
is unclear exactly what the law was. Honolulu County continued with this unique
method through 1921 when the Automobile Tags were discontinued. Honolulu
County motorcycle plates during at least some of these four years similarly had
Motorcycle Tags mounted on them.
At least as far back as 1915, these Territory of Hawaii automobile tags can be
identified as to which county they were used in. 1915 discs actually spelled out
the county name while other years seem to have a distinct county numbering
system. In 1920 and 1921, the number on the tag is actually preceded by a letter
representing the county.
A handful of motorcycle tags are also known as early as 1915, but may well have
been issued even earlier. Starting in 1920, these appear to have carried letter
codes denoting the county which issued them.
II: COUNTY-ISSUED LICENSE PLATES
Prior to 1922 when the Territory of Hawaii first began issuing standardized license
plates, each county was left to decide the issue of license plates on its own.
Because so few cars were being licensed at the time, counties simply issued
numbers and instructed owners to make their own plates. Thus, all of these
plates were homemade, regardless of county, through 1914. Then in 1915, the
two largest counties (Honolulu and Hawaii) realized that they had enough people
driving cars in their respective counties that some sort of standardized plate was
needed. Thus, beginning this year, each of these two counties started the trend
of issuing their own unique plates to residents. Both counties continued this
practice each year all the way up to 1922. The County of Maui also began issuing
standardized license plates by at least 1920, but it appears that Kauai County
never issued plates of its own, instead leaving it up to vehicle owners to fashion
plates of their own design. Notably, pre-Territorial Hawaiian license plates -
regardless of county - are so scarce in the hands of collectors that not all years
are even known.
HAWAII COUNTY
Although there were undoubtedly
homemade Hawaii County plates being used
on vehicles prior to 1915, no such plates
have ever been seen. The earliest Hawaii
County issues in collectors' hands are the
1915 and 1916 porcelains, which are
covered in detail in the Hawaiian Archive
HERE. After 1916, the County abandoned its
use of porcelain as the material of choice
for license plates. Notably, no 1917 Hawaii
County plate has ever been found, although
the photograph at right shows a partially
obscured 1917 on a car which proves that
they existed. This plate in this photo looks
very much like the crude, embossed dated
1918 & 1919 plates that are known in
collectors' hands. These plates were made
with four razor sharp corners and are
extremely scarce, with only one pair of each
year known from 1918 and 1919.
Interestingly, even though the County had given up porcelain as the material of
choice for passenger license plates, the 1918 motorcycle plates were
double-sided porcelains, which are discussed HERE.
In 1920, the style of the plates changed and were now shorter in height and
longer with a more professional appearance, including a white border. These
plates were again issued in pairs and here, too, the plates are extremely rare,
with no more than a handful still in existence. Amazingly, no 1921 plates have
ever surfaced, so collectors have no idea if the plates followed in the format of
the 1920s or not.
HONOLULU COUNTY
Unlike the known Hawaii County plates,
there is one example of an owner-provided
Honolulu County license plate from before
1915, when the County began issuing
plates of its own. There is archival
evidence that this hand painted flat metal
plate dates to 1912. No other Hawaii
County plates are known prior to 1915,
when standardized porcelain plates began
to be issued. The 1915 and 1916 Honolulu
County porcelains - both passenger and
motorcycle varieties - are covered in detail
HERE. In 1917, the County switched to
embossed metal plates. Interestingly,
there were at least two sizes of plates
manufactured in 1917, with four digit plates being produced on a longer base
than three digit plates. No one or two digit plates are known.
In 1918, Honolulu County drastically revised
its system of license plates. For the next
four years, until the Territory finally took
over in 1922, Honolulu County issued pairs
of undated embossed metal plates with
mounting holes so that the Territorially-
issued "TH Tags" could be mounted directly
on the plate. Because "TH Tags" were
issued as singles, they were only mounted
on one plate. Interestingly, it is unclear
whether they went on the front or the back
plate. I have seen front-view photographs
of four cars from this time period and three
of them have no tag while the fourth one
does. Perhaps it is reasonable to presume that the one with the tag was mounted
incorrectly and that the law required the tab on the rear - or perhaps the
placement of the tag was not specified in country regulations. Note the photo at
right of a plate with no tag. We can tell that this is either a 1918 or 1919 plate
based on the colors as well as the shape of the letters in the "HON" abbreviation,
which would undergo a change after 1919.
Notably, motorcycle plates from Honolulu appear to have had the "TH Tags"
mounted to them a well, as there is one surviving 1921 porcelain issue with an
attached Motorcycle Tag. You can learn more about this fascinating porcelain
cycle plate HERE. Like all Hawaiian pre-Territorial plates, these Honolulu County
1917-1921 plates are virtually impossible to find. Although registrations are
known to have surpassed 3,600 in 1920 and the "Official Automobile and
Motorcycle Directory of Oahu" lists automobile numbers up to 6500 in 1921, there
are only a handful of surviving plates from each year to document this fascinating
history of automobile licensing.
As a note, it should be pointed out that The Territory of Hawaii has often
struggled with how to differentiate Hawaii and Honolulu Counties in terms of the
letter prefixes used on license plates - since both counties start with "H." As a
result, from the "TH Tags" through much more modern plates, the county of
Honolulu has sometimes been represented by the letter "O" - representing Oahu,
the name of the island which constitutes Hawaii County.
KAUAI COUNTY
Unlike the other three Hawaiian counties,
Kauai does not seem to have ever issued
standardized plates. Rather, vehicle
owners appear to have been given the
responsibility to make up plates of their
own. It is also unclear how early the County
even required plates to be used. The only
surviving example of a Kauai County
pre-Territorial license plate is an undated
"K" prefixed wooden plate which probably
dates from 1920 or 1921. This plate was
found in a cardboard box under an old-
timer's house on the island. It was the first
plate along with a full run of Territorial
plates from 1922 on up, all from Kauai
County. I consider this to be excellent and authentic provenance to identify the
plate as a Kauai County pre-territorial plate. However, we also have the
photograph at left from a Kauai photo album showing a nearly identical pre-1922
Kauai plate. The back of this photo reads "touring car 1920," which would make
perfect sense. Careful analysis of the photo suggests that the plate is made of
flat painted metal. Taking the two plates together (the photo and the known
wooden plate), one might theorize that the County had a requirement that owners
manufacture a white on black plate with a "K" suffix. The size may have even
been written into the regulations, as the two plates look nearly identical in length.
MAUI COUNTY
It is unclear exactly when Maui County first
began issuing license plates to motorists.
There is some circumstantial evidence that
a 1918 plate may possibly exist. However,
the earliest verified date we know of for the
county is 1919. These are clearly visible
in period photos like the one at right.
However, no known surviving examples
were known until the first one showed up in
2012. The known plate is a wooden base
with separate metal numbers attached. In
addition, it has both a "MAUI" and a "1919"
rectangular piece of metal attached on
either side. The photo at right is the best
known photo in terms of the detail it shows,
but there is also photographic evidence of numbers 201, 708, 709 and 820. All of
these plates appear to be nearly identical to each other as well as to the known
surviving plate, suggesting that these 1919 Maui plates were standardized
county-issues. Of course, this seems like an odd design for an official issue.
Perhaps these were not county-issued, but rather owner-provided plates
designed to comply with official county specifications for license plates. It's
possible that - much like the pre-state Texas porcelains - these bases and
attachable house numbers were a common option offered in hardware stores,
thus accounting for the remarkable similarity of the plates. At this point, all we
can do is speculate. However, we do know that by the next year - 1920 - the
county was issuing official plates. This is based on the discovery of the first
known Maui County Pre-Territorial plate, which showed up on EBAY in 2006. This
embossed metal plate is clearly a mass-produced plate, and leaves little doubt
that it was commissioned and issued by the county. Logic would suggest that
1921 plates were issued as well, although no such plate has ever been seen.
III: FURTHER READING
Official Automobile and Motorcycle Directory of Oahu, 1921 (Honolulu
Star-Bulletin, 1921)
David T. Brown, "Hawaii: Aloha State." ALPCA Newsletter (29, 6), pp. 1-15.
I: TERRITORIALLY-ISSUED AUTOMOBILE TAGS (1912-1921)
Hawaii's first automobile law was passed in 1903, but it was not until 1911 that a
new law was passed first requiring some form of physical license to be attached
to the vehicle. Rather than formal license plates, however, The Territory of
Hawaii instead began the issuance of small dashboard discs, or Automobile Tags -
also known as "TH Tags." This new law became effective in 1912, and the
"TH Tags" were issued from 1912 to 1921. It should be emphasized that the
Territory of Hawaii at no point prior to 1922 ever required actual license plates to
be placed on vehicles. That was left to the four individual counties, as will be
discussed below in Section II.
The first "TH Tag" was a round aluminum disc which was followed in later years by
brass tags of various shapes, some very distinctive (Check out the photos below
and remember you can click on the thumbnails for larger, more detailed photos).
These tags were separate from the homemade or standardized county license
plates that were also required during this time period. In three of the four
Hawaiian counties (Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui), these tags never had any direct
association with the plates. Honolulu followed suit all the way up to 1917, but
beginning in 1918, this one county decided to manufacture plates with a space on
them for the Territorial Automobile Tag to be mounted right on the plate.
Sometimes the number on the tag matched the plate, sometimes it did not, and it
is unclear exactly what the law was. Honolulu County continued with this unique
method through 1921 when the Automobile Tags were discontinued. Honolulu
County motorcycle plates during at least some of these four years similarly had
Motorcycle Tags mounted on them.
At least as far back as 1915, these Territory of Hawaii automobile tags can be
identified as to which county they were used in. 1915 discs actually spelled out
the county name while other years seem to have a distinct county numbering
system. In 1920 and 1921, the number on the tag is actually preceded by a letter
representing the county.
A handful of motorcycle tags are also known as early as 1915, but may well have
been issued even earlier. Starting in 1920, these appear to have carried letter
codes denoting the county which issued them.
II: COUNTY-ISSUED LICENSE PLATES
Prior to 1922 when the Territory of Hawaii first began issuing standardized license
plates, each county was left to decide the issue of license plates on its own.
Because so few cars were being licensed at the time, counties simply issued
numbers and instructed owners to make their own plates. Thus, all of these
plates were homemade, regardless of county, through 1914. Then in 1915, the
two largest counties (Honolulu and Hawaii) realized that they had enough people
driving cars in their respective counties that some sort of standardized plate was
needed. Thus, beginning this year, each of these two counties started the trend
of issuing their own unique plates to residents. Both counties continued this
practice each year all the way up to 1922. The County of Maui also began issuing
standardized license plates by at least 1920, but it appears that Kauai County
never issued plates of its own, instead leaving it up to vehicle owners to fashion
plates of their own design. Notably, pre-Territorial Hawaiian license plates -
regardless of county - are so scarce in the hands of collectors that not all years
are even known.
HAWAII COUNTY
Although there were undoubtedly
homemade Hawaii County plates being used
on vehicles prior to 1915, no such plates
have ever been seen. The earliest Hawaii
County issues in collectors' hands are the
1915 and 1916 porcelains, which are
covered in detail in the Hawaiian Archive
HERE. After 1916, the County abandoned its
use of porcelain as the material of choice
for license plates. Notably, no 1917 Hawaii
County plate has ever been found, although
the photograph at right shows a partially
obscured 1917 on a car which proves that
they existed. This plate in this photo looks
very much like the crude, embossed dated
1918 & 1919 plates that are known in
collectors' hands. These plates were made
with four razor sharp corners and are
extremely scarce, with only one pair of each
year known from 1918 and 1919.
Interestingly, even though the County had given up porcelain as the material of
choice for passenger license plates, the 1918 motorcycle plates were
double-sided porcelains, which are discussed HERE.
In 1920, the style of the plates changed and were now shorter in height and
longer with a more professional appearance, including a white border. These
plates were again issued in pairs and here, too, the plates are extremely rare,
with no more than a handful still in existence. Amazingly, no 1921 plates have
ever surfaced, so collectors have no idea if the plates followed in the format of
the 1920s or not.
HONOLULU COUNTY
Unlike the known Hawaii County plates,
there is one example of an owner-provided
Honolulu County license plate from before
1915, when the County began issuing
plates of its own. There is archival
evidence that this hand painted flat metal
plate dates to 1912. No other Hawaii
County plates are known prior to 1915,
when standardized porcelain plates began
to be issued. The 1915 and 1916 Honolulu
County porcelains - both passenger and
motorcycle varieties - are covered in detail
HERE. In 1917, the County switched to
embossed metal plates. Interestingly,
there were at least two sizes of plates
manufactured in 1917, with four digit plates being produced on a longer base
than three digit plates. No one or two digit plates are known.
In 1918, Honolulu County drastically revised
its system of license plates. For the next
four years, until the Territory finally took
over in 1922, Honolulu County issued pairs
of undated embossed metal plates with
mounting holes so that the Territorially-
issued "TH Tags" could be mounted directly
on the plate. Because "TH Tags" were
issued as singles, they were only mounted
on one plate. Interestingly, it is unclear
whether they went on the front or the back
plate. I have seen front-view photographs
of four cars from this time period and three
of them have no tag while the fourth one
does. Perhaps it is reasonable to presume that the one with the tag was mounted
incorrectly and that the law required the tab on the rear - or perhaps the
placement of the tag was not specified in country regulations. Note the photo at
right of a plate with no tag. We can tell that this is either a 1918 or 1919 plate
based on the colors as well as the shape of the letters in the "HON" abbreviation,
which would undergo a change after 1919.
Notably, motorcycle plates from Honolulu appear to have had the "TH Tags"
mounted to them a well, as there is one surviving 1921 porcelain issue with an
attached Motorcycle Tag. You can learn more about this fascinating porcelain
cycle plate HERE. Like all Hawaiian pre-Territorial plates, these Honolulu County
1917-1921 plates are virtually impossible to find. Although registrations are
known to have surpassed 3,600 in 1920 and the "Official Automobile and
Motorcycle Directory of Oahu" lists automobile numbers up to 6500 in 1921, there
are only a handful of surviving plates from each year to document this fascinating
history of automobile licensing.
As a note, it should be pointed out that The Territory of Hawaii has often
struggled with how to differentiate Hawaii and Honolulu Counties in terms of the
letter prefixes used on license plates - since both counties start with "H." As a
result, from the "TH Tags" through much more modern plates, the county of
Honolulu has sometimes been represented by the letter "O" - representing Oahu,
the name of the island which constitutes Hawaii County.
KAUAI COUNTY
Unlike the other three Hawaiian counties,
Kauai does not seem to have ever issued
standardized plates. Rather, vehicle
owners appear to have been given the
responsibility to make up plates of their
own. It is also unclear how early the County
even required plates to be used. The only
surviving example of a Kauai County
pre-Territorial license plate is an undated
"K" prefixed wooden plate which probably
dates from 1920 or 1921. This plate was
found in a cardboard box under an old-
timer's house on the island. It was the first
plate along with a full run of Territorial
plates from 1922 on up, all from Kauai
County. I consider this to be excellent and authentic provenance to identify the
plate as a Kauai County pre-territorial plate. However, we also have the
photograph at left from a Kauai photo album showing a nearly identical pre-1922
Kauai plate. The back of this photo reads "touring car 1920," which would make
perfect sense. Careful analysis of the photo suggests that the plate is made of
flat painted metal. Taking the two plates together (the photo and the known
wooden plate), one might theorize that the County had a requirement that owners
manufacture a white on black plate with a "K" suffix. The size may have even
been written into the regulations, as the two plates look nearly identical in length.
MAUI COUNTY
It is unclear exactly when Maui County first
began issuing license plates to motorists.
There is some circumstantial evidence that
a 1918 plate may possibly exist. However,
the earliest verified date we know of for the
county is 1919. These are clearly visible
in period photos like the one at right.
However, no known surviving examples
were known until the first one showed up in
2012. The known plate is a wooden base
with separate metal numbers attached. In
addition, it has both a "MAUI" and a "1919"
rectangular piece of metal attached on
either side. The photo at right is the best
known photo in terms of the detail it shows,
but there is also photographic evidence of numbers 201, 708, 709 and 820. All of
these plates appear to be nearly identical to each other as well as to the known
surviving plate, suggesting that these 1919 Maui plates were standardized
county-issues. Of course, this seems like an odd design for an official issue.
Perhaps these were not county-issued, but rather owner-provided plates
designed to comply with official county specifications for license plates. It's
possible that - much like the pre-state Texas porcelains - these bases and
attachable house numbers were a common option offered in hardware stores,
thus accounting for the remarkable similarity of the plates. At this point, all we
can do is speculate. However, we do know that by the next year - 1920 - the
county was issuing official plates. This is based on the discovery of the first
known Maui County Pre-Territorial plate, which showed up on EBAY in 2006. This
embossed metal plate is clearly a mass-produced plate, and leaves little doubt
that it was commissioned and issued by the county. Logic would suggest that
1921 plates were issued as well, although no such plate has ever been seen.
III: FURTHER READING
Official Automobile and Motorcycle Directory of Oahu, 1921 (Honolulu
Star-Bulletin, 1921)
David T. Brown, "Hawaii: Aloha State." ALPCA Newsletter (29, 6), pp. 1-15.
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| Honolulu County, 1917 |
| Kauai County, Circa 1920 |
| Maui County, 1919 |
| Honolulu County, 1918 or 1919 |
| Hawaii County, 1917 |
