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Prince Edward Island Archive
TOTAL KNOWN PORCELAIN VARIETIES: 2
I: PRE-PROVINCIALS / CITY & COUNTY PLATES
There are no known pre-provincial porcelains from Prince Edward Island. There
are also no cities in the Province that are known to have issued porcelain plates.
II: PROVINCIALLY-ISSUED PASSENGER PLATES
Prince Edward Island joins Ontario as one of only two provinces to issue only one
year of porcelain plate. However, a number of aspects of the undated P.E.I. plate
distinguish it from anything else. For one, all other provinces from which
porcelain plates were officially issued began their respective runs with
porcelains. In P.E.I., however, the province had been issuing a variety of plates -
both flat metal reinforced with a metal bar framing the back of the plate as well as
a fiberboard issue - since about 1915. Only after three or four annual issues (the
date of the first provincial plate is in dispute), did P.E.I. finally turn to porcelain.
Furthermore, the 1919 issue date is remarkably late, rivaled only by
Saskatchewan's return to porcelain that same year after a four year hiatus. All
other provinces had ceased porcelain production by 1917. Actually, the 1919
porcelain is late even from a U.S. perspective. By then, all states East of the
Rockies had abandoned porcelain for good, and only a few Western states still
clung to it. 1919 was the final year of California’s 6 year run of porcelains, and
only Washington and New Mexico would continue to pursue porcelain after this
date.
The color of the P.E.I. porcelain is interesting as well. Clearly taking its
inspiration from the 1916 New Brunswick issue, the attractive dark blue on pale
blue color scheme is very unusual and is not known to have been used on any
other porcelain license plate of any kind from the United States or Canada, other
than these two issues.
Finally, the fact that the P.E.I. porcelain is undated makes it unusual as well. The
only other undated porcelains of any kind from all of Canada are the Victoria,
British Columbia city issue and the pre-provincial Nova Scotia plates. Other than
the P.E.I., every provincially issued porcelain, both passenger and non-
passenger, is a dated plate.
II: PROVINCIALLY-ISSUED NON-PASSENGER ISSUES
DEALER
The only non-passenger variety of the undated P.E.I. porcelain known is a single
pair of dealer plates. These dealer plates are very interesting because they
represents the only example of a Canadian porcelain to feature the word
"dealer." The New Brunswick dealers from 1913 through 1917 come close, with
the words "Dealers" and "Dealers Tag" on them, but no other plate features the
singular version of the word as on the P.E.I. Dealer plates were made in exactly
the same format as the passenger issues, except that the numerals were
shortened slightly to make room for the "DEALER" across the bottom. P.E.I. 1919
dealers are one of the single rarest provincially-issued porcelain varieties that
exists, topped only by the existence of a unique Alberta 1913 motorcycle plate.
We know from the only surviving examples that these plates were issued in pairs.
I: PRE-PROVINCIALS / CITY & COUNTY PLATES
There are no known pre-provincial porcelains from Prince Edward Island. There
are also no cities in the Province that are known to have issued porcelain plates.
II: PROVINCIALLY-ISSUED PASSENGER PLATES
Prince Edward Island joins Ontario as one of only two provinces to issue only one
year of porcelain plate. However, a number of aspects of the undated P.E.I. plate
distinguish it from anything else. For one, all other provinces from which
porcelain plates were officially issued began their respective runs with
porcelains. In P.E.I., however, the province had been issuing a variety of plates -
both flat metal reinforced with a metal bar framing the back of the plate as well as
a fiberboard issue - since about 1915. Only after three or four annual issues (the
date of the first provincial plate is in dispute), did P.E.I. finally turn to porcelain.
Furthermore, the 1919 issue date is remarkably late, rivaled only by
Saskatchewan's return to porcelain that same year after a four year hiatus. All
other provinces had ceased porcelain production by 1917. Actually, the 1919
porcelain is late even from a U.S. perspective. By then, all states East of the
Rockies had abandoned porcelain for good, and only a few Western states still
clung to it. 1919 was the final year of California’s 6 year run of porcelains, and
only Washington and New Mexico would continue to pursue porcelain after this
date.
The color of the P.E.I. porcelain is interesting as well. Clearly taking its
inspiration from the 1916 New Brunswick issue, the attractive dark blue on pale
blue color scheme is very unusual and is not known to have been used on any
other porcelain license plate of any kind from the United States or Canada, other
than these two issues.
Finally, the fact that the P.E.I. porcelain is undated makes it unusual as well. The
only other undated porcelains of any kind from all of Canada are the Victoria,
British Columbia city issue and the pre-provincial Nova Scotia plates. Other than
the P.E.I., every provincially issued porcelain, both passenger and non-
passenger, is a dated plate.
II: PROVINCIALLY-ISSUED NON-PASSENGER ISSUES
DEALER
The only non-passenger variety of the undated P.E.I. porcelain known is a single
pair of dealer plates. These dealer plates are very interesting because they
represents the only example of a Canadian porcelain to feature the word
"dealer." The New Brunswick dealers from 1913 through 1917 come close, with
the words "Dealers" and "Dealers Tag" on them, but no other plate features the
singular version of the word as on the P.E.I. Dealer plates were made in exactly
the same format as the passenger issues, except that the numerals were
shortened slightly to make room for the "DEALER" across the bottom. P.E.I. 1919
dealers are one of the single rarest provincially-issued porcelain varieties that
exists, topped only by the existence of a unique Alberta 1913 motorcycle plate.
We know from the only surviving examples that these plates were issued in pairs.
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