1922-1930

1922

For 1922 New Hampshire returned to embossed steel license plates. There is no known indication as to why this change was made, but all of the other New England states had abandoned flat steel by 1921, so New Hampshire was both a late adopter of flat plates and late to return to embossed steel. Contemporary accounts of the manufacturers of the 1922 plates have not been identified. Based on similarities to other plates manufactured at the time it is possible that the plates were manufactured by the Grimm Stamp and Badge Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

The formatting of 1922 plates also changes slightly: The state's initials now appeared at the bottom of the plate, in line with the date, rather than at the top with the date at bottom. This follows the formatting that Massachusetts had been using since 1917 and which was also in use in every other New England state except Vermont.

There are three distinct manufacturing batches for the 1922 plates: low numbered plates feature a green back, higher numbered plates have a black back and a few very high numbered plates have a brown back.

A Portsmouth Herald article published on June 15, 1923 indicates that 48546 passenger registrations were issued in 1922. National Petroleum News listed 48446 cars, of which 41496 were passenger cars and 6950 were trucks as December 31, 1922 totals.

1923

1923 license plates were being distributed over the counter from the office of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles by December 13 of 1922. A Portsmouth Herald article from June 15 indicates that the Commissioner had originally ordered 55000 sets of passenger plates for the year, but that it was believed that this would be insufficient. 4000 more sets of plates were ordered by June 28.

The plates reverted to the format used from 1917 to 1921 with "N H" centered at the top and the date at the bottom. A unique feature of the 1923 plates is the use of a period as a thousands separator within the registration number. This is the first use of a thousands separator on New Hampshrie license plates. It may have been decided that a comma would bee too difficult to emboss and therefore the period was selected instead. Due to the similarities in design between plates issued from 1923 through 1927 it is believed that plates for these years were all provided by the same manufacturer. A 1926 article indicates that plates from that year were made in Ohio. The Scioto Sign Company was the major plate manufacturer operating in Ohio at that time so it is likely that they provided 1923-27 plates.

By November 22, plate number 59800 had been issued and it was estimated that up to 200 more registrations could be issued by the end of the year. The Federal Highway Administration lists 60275 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1923..

1924

Some 30000 pairs of passenger license plates for 1924 were already being stored in the State house basement by June 28 of 1923 with a total of 50000 on order. While the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles had believed by this time that the state was saturated with automobiles and that registration numbers would begin to level off, this was not the case.

By November 14 of 1923 the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles had mailed a copy of the updated motor vehicle law including tables explaining the updated fees for vehicle registration to everyone who had registered a vehicle in 1923. Some copies of the law book included an error in the weight table for vehicles between 3601 and 3700 pounds.

The Commissioner published a notice in state newspapers urging motorists to send the correct fees and to register their vehicles early:

"Persons planning to operate their motor vehicle the first of January, 1924, or desiring a fairly low number, should file their application with the necessary permit to be procured from the town clerk, accompanied by the correct fee, immediately. After the middle of December the department will be rushed, and the post office flooded with Christmas mail in addition to the automobile plates, and it will be a physical impossibility to accommodate all who wait until the last minute.

Plates will be sent out with the certificate of registration and driving license enclosed in the window envelope of the package containing the same."

The new fee structure was as follows:

Minimum fee: $10.00

Vehicles weighing under 4000 pounds: 45 cents per 100 pounds

Vehicles weighing 4000 to under 6000 pounds: 55 cents per 100 pounds

Vehicles weighing 6000 pounds to under 8000 pounds: 60 cents per 100 pounds

Vehicles 8000 pounds and over: 70 cents per 100 pounds

By December 13, 1923 plates were being sent out from Concord, with 2,721 having been sent by that date. Some 65000 plates had been manufactured by the beginning of 1924, and 16000 had been issued by January 3. The State House experienced a substantial rush of registrants on the first business day of the year, and the Motor Vehicle office stayed open until 1:00 AM.

The April registration list goes up to number 25578. By July 25, plate number 66376 had been issued, by August 14, 68000 and by August 27 , the state was nearing passenger plate number 69000 and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles was projecting that the state would reach 70000 by the end of the year. It was expected that around 2000 plates would be issued in September and October as part of the annual early autumn bump in auto sales. An April 6, 1925 article in the Portsmouth Herald reports that the year end figure was "upwards of 72000" and the Federal Highway Administration lists 71929 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1924.

1925

By July 25, 1924 there were already 80000 1925 license plates being stored in the cellar of the state house.

By April 6 plate number 45000 had been issued. By June 22, plate number 71500 was on the road and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles was projecting that between 85000 and 90000 passenger registrations would be issued. The Federal Highway Administration lists 81827 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1925.

1926

“Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men.” –Daniel Webster

"New Hampshire is to have an 'Old Man of the Mountain' song. The idea is a good one. Praise the 'Old Man' in song and story all you want, but keep his face off the number plates." - The Nashua Telegraph, November 16, 1948

The Old Man of the Mountain, also known as the Profile or the Great Stone Face, was a series of natural granite outcroppings on Cannon Mountain near Franconia Notch, New Hampshire. When viewed from the proper angle, the outcroppings aligned in such a way as to create the appearance of the profile of an old man’s face. First reported by a survey team in 1805, the face has been a symbol of the state ever since. Its likeness has appeared on every imaginable souvenir, state highway signs, and the state quarter. It was made the focus of New Hampshire’s state emblem in 1945. The face collapsed in 2003, but this has not stopped its use as a symbol and marketing tool. It also was used as New Hampshire’s first license plate graphic.

Why would the state put the Old Man’s image on its license plates only once?

One factor was that the thin gauge of metal needed to get a crisp impression of the graphic resulted in weak plates that often tore, bent, and cracked at the bolt holes, making them unsuitable for use. This was true of the graphic plates, but was first expressed publicly as a reason for discontinuing the plates long after the decision had already been made, as seen in a December 1, 1926 article from the Portsmouth Herald:

“…stamping the profile on the plate necessitated the use of less metal. It was impossible to have plates as heavy as those used in 1925, and the thin sheet of metal was, of course, more easily bent and its value thus destroyed.”

Surprisingly, the driving force behind the discontinuation of the Old Man graphic was something quite different: Strong dislike for the design among New Hampshire residents.

Initially, there was some level of excitement regarding the pending issuance of graphic license plates. As early as November of 1924, newspapers were reporting that there were plans to include the Old Man on 1926 plates and by December of that year it was announced that the Department of Motor Vehicles had adopted the Old Man of the Mountain graphic “as a distinctive mark for New Hampshire motorists in the future.” An article in the Christian Science Monitor stated that “The idea originated in a desire to provide the plates with a little more distinction than was afforded by the color scheme and the initials of the name of the State and to call attention to one of New Hampshire’s outstanding attractions.” By mid April of 1925 the manufacturer (an unnamed Ohio company, possibly the Scioto Sign Company) was exhibiting a prototype plate at the State House. This may in fact be the one 1926 plate numbered 00-000 still in existence. The prototype apparently impressed those in Concord, and the plates went in to production.

At almost the exact same time that the prototype of the Old Man plate was on display the State Legislature was finalizing plans to purchase Franconia Notch and the Old Man from the Abbot family which operated a hotel company and owned the land. In mid April the state approved $200000 towards the purchase and an additional $200000 was raised privately by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, women's groups from throughout the state and a variety of other organizations. Buttons were sold as a fund raiser throughout the state. While the owners were reluctant to sell the land a Superior Court jury was empanelled to set the price. There were concerns that lumber companies were considering harvesting the timber in the area and that many of the natural wonders of the area were being controlled by private interests who were charging for their enjoyment. The purchase was finalized and the park dedicated to New Hampshire's veterans of World War I in 1928 with the park being dedicated on September 15 of that year..

Notice was posted on November 4th, 1925 that those wishing to secure low number registrations for 1926 needed to apply before the last Wednesday of the month, and that only the number 100 was guaranteed to a specific individual, Governor John Gilbert Winant. The new plates began to be distributed in early December 1925 to corporations and private motorists who wished to operate their vehicles through the winter.

4000 pairs had been sent out by the state by December 8^th, 1925. It did not take long for a string of complaints to appear in the state’s newspapers. A writer for the Milford Cabinet praised the idea of an Old Man plate but he described the the current design as follows:

“When far away, you don’t know what it is; closer, not so bad; near to, just fair. But when you get up close - Oh Golly. As pictured in tin the aged dent is a low browed prize fighter with a lantern jaw and a busted nose. His mouth resembles that of a fish that has been long on the bank. The general expression is that of the patient when the dentist picks up the tongs and says 'just a little wider please.'”

Another reporter stated: “Were the profile a good one and finished in style on the registration plate, it might be acceptable, but as it is, it is an insult to ‘The Old Man’.”

A reporter for the Peterborough Transcript complained: “Looks like it was designed by Ring Lardner with Jack Keefe as a model.” (Jack Keefe was a cartoon minor league baseball player with a distinctive craggy profile designed by Lardner).

A reporter from the Portsmouth Herald observed: "While those living in New Hampshire will perhaps guess that the design on the plates is intended to represent the "Old Man of the Mountains" many of those within the state and elsewhere will likely take the symbol for the last quarter of the moon.

The press seemed more than willing to cover the story, printing several articles with un-sourced complaints from motorists. Objectively, it can be clearly seen that the 1926 graphic has a more rounded appearance than the actual Old Man and that much of the detail had been simplified. It is not clear exactly how many people really objected to the plate design, or what percentage of residents thought the plates looked good. The New Hampshire papers, however, latched on to the story like no other plate-related story before. The complaints focused on the appearance of the Old Man graphic: that it did not resemble the actual Old Man and that the silhouette design seemed unfinished (ie: didn’t give the sense of the color or texture of the stone).

Criticism of the 1926 plates was not universal. Secretary Tuttle of the New Hampshire Publicity Committee reported that New Hampshire residents who wintered in Florida were reporting that the plates were “one of the best pieces of state advertising which has come to their attention.” Of course, the secretary of the Publicity Committee had a strong incentive to put a positive spin on the situation, but those in Florida would have recently been exposed to the plates featuring state-shaped graphics issued there and would have had a broader context of plate design to consider. Another un-sourced quote described the plates in a positive light “because they were distinctive and bore upon them what almost has come to be regarded as New Hampshire’s trademark.” An article in the Rochester Courier stated "The new auto number plates are the prettiest that have yet been issued in this state." The Newburyport News (Newburyport, MA) also took a shot at the complainers, stating that the 1926 plate design was “one of the most effective we have seen.”

After the brief effort at placing a positive spin on the 1926 plates, the state decided to cut its losses. The uproar, propelled by the state’s newspapers, was successful in turning an opportunity to publicize the state into a public relations disaster. By February 2nd, 1926 the Portsmouth Herald reported that the design was being discontinued. The 1927 plates had been ordered by the State Purchasing Agent from the same unnamed Ohio firm, but would be produced without the Old Man graphic. John F. Griffin, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles ceded that the 1926 plates were of inadequate design: “It cannot be denied that the simpler the design of a license plate, the better. It was said, and I believe with truth, that the plates used this year were somewhat hard to read at night.” This, of course, is an avoidance of the central criticism of the plates: poor design of the Old Man graphic. The New York Times carried an article also on February 2nd which claimed that motorists complained that the graphic was easily confused with the number “9” from a distance.

Porcelain license plate toppers which bore the likeness of the old man and the wording “N H Beautiful” and appeared in the late 1920s may have been an effort to embrace the advertising potential of the Old Man while eliminating the problems associated with including the graphic within the registration number and the quality limitations associated with the metal stamping process. Of particular note are the lines on the profile intended to give a sense of texture.

As late as November of 1948 an editorial in the Nashua Telegraph remembered the Old Man plates as a disaster: “New Hampshire, it is hoped, never will revert to its license plates of some years back. It boasted, if that is the word, a poor likeness of the Old Man of the Mountain, which was taken off when discovery was belatedly made that the design hampered quick reading, as is so often necessary of the figures.”

According to a surviving registration certificate, plate number 42831 was issued on March 30, 1926.

Several sources report that 89001 registrations were issued in New Hampshire in 1926. A report by B. F. Goodrich put the total at 88976. The Federal Highway Administration lists 89371 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1926.

1927

At the end of 1926, there were fewer than 150 plates remaining in Concord from the orders placed with the manufacturer. There must have been considerably more blank plates remaining in Ohio from 1925, however, as the company produced the first of New Hampshire’s 1927 plates on 1925 blanks with the “5” re-stamped into a “7”. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles was evidently not happy with this fact, as a December 11, 1926 Christian Science Monitor article states:

"Revamped or restamped 1927 motor vehicle plates were under investigation by John F. Griffin, motor vehicle commissioner, who announces that some of the plates now being issued were found to have been previously stamped with the year 1925 and then changed to 1927. The figure five has been taken out, he said, and seven substituted. It is not known how many plates are affected. The commissioner said that the manufacturer may have made an error in making the plates and then attempted to correct it or that he may have had a stock of 1925 plates on his hands which he is now using up." It is also interesting to note that New Hampshire appears to have changed plate suppliers after 1927 and that this apparent shortcut may have contributed to that decision. All low number plates appear to be on re-stamped 1925 bases, with 3124 being the highest verified re-stamped number. Plate 3420 is the lowest number reported on a non-restamped base.

80642 registrations had been issued by May 25, 1927 according to an Associated Press article. An Automotive Industries report put the total at 62434 as of July 1. The number had reached 96000 by December 14 and a report by B.F. Goodrich put the total for the year at 97387. The Federal Highway Administration lists 96351 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1927.

1928

1928

After five years of relatively consistent design, 1928 brought a reconfiguration of New Hampshire's license plates. Plates were described in a December 29, 1927 Portsmouth Herald article as having "a green background as in alternate years here tofore, but the letters carry a slightly changed color being of a slightly silver tinge instead of pure white as in past seasons." Additionally, while the state abbreviation remained at the top of the plate, the date was shortened to two digits and moved from the bottom to the top. The design and color changes of the 1928 plates are a strong indicator that a new manufacturer provided the plates for this and the following year. The change in vendor may have been brought on in part by dissatisfaction with the use of restamped plates the previous year. It is known that 1929 plates were manufactured by the Adams Stamp and Stationary Company of St. Louis, Missouri. The similarity in design suggests that 1928 plate were produced by Adams as well.

It was permissable for 1928 license plates to be displayed on vehicles starting on Thursday, December 27, 1927. A December 23, 1927 Portsmouth Herald article indicates that this practice caused some confusion, thought it does not state if this was among motorists, law enforcement, or other groups.

The state was planning for passenger registrations to reach 100000 for the first time, with that many plates on hand by December 14, 1927. The increase to 6 digits required an increase in the size of plate blanks. Those for numbers 100 to 99999 were stamped on 6" X 13.5" blanks while 100000 and up were on 6" X 15" blanks.

A January 10 article in the Nashua Telegraph described the 1928 plates as being of "plain, readable, and destinctive design." The article also noted that the plates closely resembled those from Massachusetts from the same year: "New Hampshire should have had a copyright on its design, but of course, no one could forsee that Massachusetts would take on the role of copycat, ever."

Plate number 100679 had been issued by December 29, 1928, though this seems a low number based on surviving examples.

An August 22, 1929 article in the Nashua Telegraph states that over 6000 registrations were issued between August 20 and December 31, 1928. The Federal Highway Administration lists 103611 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1928.

1929

1929 plates continued the design of the previous year with reversed colors. A Department of Commerce publication titled "Prison Industries" states that the 1929 plates were manufactured by the Adams Stamp and Stationary Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

A Nashau Telegraph article published on August 22 stated that plate number 103,154 had been issued by that date and that registrations were expected to exceed 110,000. The Federal Highway Administration lists 109375 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1929.

1930

1930

By December 3, 1929 approximately 7200 motorists had applied for 1930 registrations and 5000 license plates had been shipped.

The Governor reported that 108980 automobiles were registered in the state in 1930, though plates numbered higher than that mark have been observed. A December 10, 1932 Portsmouth Herald article puts the total at 111553, and notes that it was the highest number of registrations to that point. The Federal Highway Administration lists 112737 registered automobiles and trucks in the state for 1930.

A December 14, 1929 article in the Nashua Telegraph described the plates as follows: "Those who have seen the automobile number plates for 1930 say there is no foolishness about them...New Hampshire's number plates this year...are an excellent type of number plate. The plate is of dark green hue and is substantial in appearance, the letters possibly a bit more extended and prominent than in other years. The plate appears artistic in its simple plain design-and readable, which after all is the most admirable attribute of a number plate."

A Department of Commerce publication titled "Prison Industries" states that the 1930 contract for plates went once again to the Scioto Sign Company of Kent, Ohio. The dyes used to stamp the numbers of 1930 New Hampshire tractor and trailer license plates match those used on New Hampshire passenger plates from 1923 through 1927, further strengthening the evidence that Scioto made both series of plates. Whatever issues the state had with Scioto's business practices must have been resolved or forgotten and there is no indication that the state was dissatisfied with the 1930 plates.