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Unknown Archive
TOTAL KNOWN PORCELAIN VARIETIES: 19
This section of the archive is devoted to plates that are unidentified as to their
jurisdiction of issuance. There is little doubt that the plates presented here are
all city issues, but that's about as much as we know. If you can help to identify the
origin of any of these porcelains, please let me know!
AUTOMOBILE
There are two porcelain plates marked "Automobile," which indicates that they
were likely used to license passenger vehicles in a given city. They both expire
on August 31, suggesting they may be from the same jurisdiction, although the
formats are a bit different from one another.
CITY LICENSE
It is believed that these small 1908 and 1909 plates are from Pennsylvania, based
on the fact that the 1908 example was dug up in the state in 2017. However, there
is no hard evidence that these plate do indeed hail from Pennsylvania.
DAIRY LICENSE
This little mystery plate has the very early date of 1910, and was used to license
milk vehicles. The "MF" likely indicates the city of issuance, but it's anybody's
guess what this actually stands for. I have seen two examples of these plates, the
second of which turned up on EBAY. The seller of that plate speculated that the
"MF" stood for Martin's Ferry, Ohio. I failed to keep a photograph of that plate,
but my recollection is that it was double-sided.
DRAY
There are five dated varieties of Dray plates known. These are nearly identical in
layout and appearance, and very likely were issued from the same jurisdiction.
These plates could have adorned either horse-drawn carts or motorized trucks.
These plates date back to at least 1910 and at some point, probably in the '20s, the
format changed to an "May 1" expiration date. The last known example is from
1931, suggesting that this run of plates was issued annually for at least 20 years!
HAWKER
There are two examples of Hawker plates that exist from an unknown jurisdiction.
These plates, dated 1911 & 1915, are nearly identical to the Dray plates of the
same years shown above, suggesting that they might all hail from the same place.
The best evidence we have as to the general region of issuance is the fact that
the 1911 plate was dug up in 2009 in the Killingly area of Eastern Connecticut, not
far from the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It seems virtually certain,
therefore, that these plates originated somewhere in New England.
JITNEY
Surfacing on EBAY in February of 2011, this small little Jitney plate from some
unknown jurisdiction became only the third porcelain license plate of any kind
known to bear the term "Jitney" on it (the other two being from San Francisco,
CA). The font style of the letters and numbers is nearly identical to the long run of
plates thought to have been issued by the city of Schenectady, NY to various
classes of vehicle. However, the size and format of the plate suggests that this
Jitney porcelain does not belong in that group. Thus, I have placed it here until
and unless more evidence surfaces to identify its jurisdiction of origin.
MILK
This simple blue & white milk plate was sold alongside a 1910 Pennsylvania on
EBAY, suggesting the possibility that it too might hail from that state. However,
there is no evidence to prove or disprove this, so until we learn more, it exists
here in the Unknown archive.
MILK
This little plate is very similar in wording to milk plates known from the city of
Schenectady, NY. However, the size and layout of this one is completely different
from anything else known.
PASSENGER
This plate was dug out of an old dump site by the Caney River near Bartlesville,
Oklahoma. It is very likely an Oklahoma porcelain, but we cannot be certain,
especially due to the site's close proximity to Kansas, a state which produced
many city-issued porcelains of its own. My guess is that the plate reads "OAK"
and is an abbreviation for Oakhurst, Oklahoma - a town not too far away.
Similar to the plate above, this plate has no identification at all. Florida expert
Jeff Francis believes that it might have been issued in Columbia County, FL, but
we have no concrete evidence to support this.
VENDOR
Vendor is a very nebulous category that could mean just about anything, but it is
very possible that these plates did not hang from actual motor vehicles, but
rather were used on some sort of push cart. These distinctive plates with the
date and number encircled are reminiscent of the various classes of porcelain
plates presumed to have been issued by the city of Schenectady, New York, but
they are different enough from those that I feel they are better placed here in the
unknown category.
This section of the archive is devoted to plates that are unidentified as to their
jurisdiction of issuance. There is little doubt that the plates presented here are
all city issues, but that's about as much as we know. If you can help to identify the
origin of any of these porcelains, please let me know!
AUTOMOBILE
There are two porcelain plates marked "Automobile," which indicates that they
were likely used to license passenger vehicles in a given city. They both expire
on August 31, suggesting they may be from the same jurisdiction, although the
formats are a bit different from one another.
CITY LICENSE
It is believed that these small 1908 and 1909 plates are from Pennsylvania, based
on the fact that the 1908 example was dug up in the state in 2017. However, there
is no hard evidence that these plate do indeed hail from Pennsylvania.
DAIRY LICENSE
This little mystery plate has the very early date of 1910, and was used to license
milk vehicles. The "MF" likely indicates the city of issuance, but it's anybody's
guess what this actually stands for. I have seen two examples of these plates, the
second of which turned up on EBAY. The seller of that plate speculated that the
"MF" stood for Martin's Ferry, Ohio. I failed to keep a photograph of that plate,
but my recollection is that it was double-sided.
DRAY
There are five dated varieties of Dray plates known. These are nearly identical in
layout and appearance, and very likely were issued from the same jurisdiction.
These plates could have adorned either horse-drawn carts or motorized trucks.
These plates date back to at least 1910 and at some point, probably in the '20s, the
format changed to an "May 1" expiration date. The last known example is from
1931, suggesting that this run of plates was issued annually for at least 20 years!
HAWKER
There are two examples of Hawker plates that exist from an unknown jurisdiction.
These plates, dated 1911 & 1915, are nearly identical to the Dray plates of the
same years shown above, suggesting that they might all hail from the same place.
The best evidence we have as to the general region of issuance is the fact that
the 1911 plate was dug up in 2009 in the Killingly area of Eastern Connecticut, not
far from the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It seems virtually certain,
therefore, that these plates originated somewhere in New England.
JITNEY
Surfacing on EBAY in February of 2011, this small little Jitney plate from some
unknown jurisdiction became only the third porcelain license plate of any kind
known to bear the term "Jitney" on it (the other two being from San Francisco,
CA). The font style of the letters and numbers is nearly identical to the long run of
plates thought to have been issued by the city of Schenectady, NY to various
classes of vehicle. However, the size and format of the plate suggests that this
Jitney porcelain does not belong in that group. Thus, I have placed it here until
and unless more evidence surfaces to identify its jurisdiction of origin.
MILK
This simple blue & white milk plate was sold alongside a 1910 Pennsylvania on
EBAY, suggesting the possibility that it too might hail from that state. However,
there is no evidence to prove or disprove this, so until we learn more, it exists
here in the Unknown archive.
MILK
This little plate is very similar in wording to milk plates known from the city of
Schenectady, NY. However, the size and layout of this one is completely different
from anything else known.
PASSENGER
This plate was dug out of an old dump site by the Caney River near Bartlesville,
Oklahoma. It is very likely an Oklahoma porcelain, but we cannot be certain,
especially due to the site's close proximity to Kansas, a state which produced
many city-issued porcelains of its own. My guess is that the plate reads "OAK"
and is an abbreviation for Oakhurst, Oklahoma - a town not too far away.
Similar to the plate above, this plate has no identification at all. Florida expert
Jeff Francis believes that it might have been issued in Columbia County, FL, but
we have no concrete evidence to support this.
VENDOR
Vendor is a very nebulous category that could mean just about anything, but it is
very possible that these plates did not hang from actual motor vehicles, but
rather were used on some sort of push cart. These distinctive plates with the
date and number encircled are reminiscent of the various classes of porcelain
plates presumed to have been issued by the city of Schenectady, New York, but
they are different enough from those that I feel they are better placed here in the
unknown category.
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