Want to own Illinois’ very first automobile license plate? It’s on auction now

Clip-clopping horses pulling wagons and buggies, clanging avenue vehicles, hordes of pedestrians wandering wherever they wished and cars weaving by the chaos.

Downtown Chicago visitors within the early 1900s has been described as a sort of hell. The streets themselves had been simply as terrible.

“We’ve acquired to repair the roads or make the roads higher. So we’ve acquired to generate some income to do that,” stated Mike Donley, explaining the pondering on the time.

Donley is without doubt one of the homeowners of Donley Auctions in Union within the northwest suburbs, which this week placed on public sale a group of 600 classic license plates and metropolis automobile tags from the period. They got here from the property of the late-Glenview automobile fanatic Lee Hartung.

The “holy grail” among the many assortment is a flimsy 1904, Metropolis of Chicago-issued license plate with the No. 1 stamped on it. It was, Donley stated, the primary vehicle license plate issued in Illinois.

“The extra I dove into it, the extra I noticed how important this 1904 was,” Donley stated. “No one licensed something as a result of there have been so few vehicles.”

The plate was issued to Arthur J. Eddy, a widely known legal professional and the founding father of the Chicago Motor Membership, Donley stated.

At a time when drivers wore white “duster” coats to maintain their fits clear, license plates had been first fabricated from aluminum however had been thought of too flimsy. The town quickly began making them from strong brass, earlier than the state took over the job in 1907 — which explains why metropolis plates are so uncommon, Donley stated.

Bidders seem to agree. As of Friday morning, the very best bid for the No. 1 license plate had reached $3,750. Bidding closes at midday Sunday, in line with the public sale home.

To study extra in regards to the plate and the public sale, go to: www.donleyauctions.com.