refinished american antique industrial single-sided lightly embossed stamped steel c. 1915 license plate likely mounted on a commercial truck. the pressed and/or stamped steel license plate has been brushed down to bare metal and sealed with a clear coat lacquer. the state (i.e., illinois) and date are on the far right side. the four-digit number is decipherable, despite surface wear and tear. likely fabricated by the c.h. hanson co., chicago, il. the first license plates in the united states appeared in 1903 when the commonwealth of massachusetts began requiring motor vehicles to display them. soon after, other states followed suit, with virtually every state having adopted a form of license plates by 1918. the first license plates in the united states were made out of leather, rubber, iron and porcelain, painted on the front in usually two different colors, one for the background and one for the lettering. this scheme held true for most states until about 1920. the front of the plate would usually contain the registration number in large digits, and in smaller lettering on one side of the plate, the two- or four-digit year number, and an abbreviated state name. each year, citizens were usually required to obtain a new license plate from the state government, which would have a different color scheme than the previous year, making it easier for police to identify whether or not citizens were current with their vehicle registration. even before 1920, some states had adopted the technique of embossing the metal plates with raised lettering and numbering, without porcelain, and applying paint all over the plate, directly onto the metal. minnesota introduced some license plates during this period with three different years embossed into the plate, so that the plates were valid for three consecutive years (e.g., 1918, 1919, and 1920). earlier plates varied in size and shape from one jurisdiction to the next, such that if one moved, new holes would need to be drilled into the bumper to support the new plate. standardization of plates came in 1957, when automobile manufacturers came to agreement with governments and international standards organizations. plate measures 14 1/2 inches x 7 1/4 inches.