Dr. Lambe Has A License For Every Occasion

Local professional has one of largest license plate collections in the State of Florida

By Sid Riley

When you first think of collecting license plates the subject doesn’t sound like it would be something which would be too exciting or interesting. However, it only takes a short conversation with Dr. Greg Lambe, owner of Lambe Chiropractic Center in Marianna, to realize that the subject of license plates has a long, varied, and interesting history.
Dr. Lambe graduated from Marianna High in the class of 1977. He then attended Chipola for two years, and next entered Texas Chiropractic College where he earned his degree in 1983.
He began collecting license tags when he was eighteen years old. His first plates were two 1967 Florida tags which he found at his Grandfathers place of business, Lambe’s Welding Supply in Marianna. From that beginning, his collection has grown to a collection of over 5000 license plates, many of which adorn walls in his home. Today his twenty-two year old son Christopher works with him on improving the collection.
“When I began, my first goal was to collect every year since Florida began issuing tags in 1918,” Lambe stated. “I accomplished that goal within a few years, so I set as my second goal, doing the same thing for every state. I have found that goal to perhaps be beyond my reach. However, I now do have at least one tag from every state.” The oldest tag in the Lambe collection is a pre-state Florida tag from 1910.
Lambe has collected full collections from several other states, including New York (1903-2009), and Colorado (1913-2009). He is especially looking for old plates from the Western states, such as Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, and Nevada. “These states are very hard to collect, since the populations in these states are so small and thus fewer plates were produced,” Lambe explains. “That fact makes them much rarer and more difficult to discover.”
Another area of tag collection which collectors seek is the pre-statehood tags. Virtually every territory issued license plates during the years before they became states. Initially, when automobiles first came into use, many tags were issued at the city and county levels instead of only being issued by state governments. “You would buy license kits at local hardware stores to manufacture your own tag. Many of these early tags were made of leather, and some were made of wood with metal numbers. Often, people would use their house numbers on the tags,” Lambe continued. “Illinois made its tags out of fiberboard for a few years.”
In 1903 Massachusetts issued the first state tag, and a new revenue source was born. For several years tags were made of metal, then metal plates covered with porcelain. Lambe has several of these in his extensive collection, including wood, leather, and porcelain.
During WWII license plates were renewed by adding a metal clip to the existing plate, in a manner similar to the system used today with the peel-off overlays. Arizona had copper license plates in the 1930’s, and at times other states used tin and aluminum.
From 1938 through 1975 Florida used county codes on their license plates. You could easily determine whether a passing car was from your home area or not. Jackson County was number 25. In 1951 the first Florida tag with a state slogan was produced. The slogan was “Keep Florida Green”. In 1952 this was changed to the “Sunshine State” logo. That same slogan was used by New Mexico in 1932, and never repeated until Florida claimed it.
There are over 10,000 avid license plate collectors throughout the nation, and regular trade shows and collector meetings are held each year. Lambe fears the future for the license plate is rather dismal. “Eventually, it will merely consist of a bar code which they can scan as you pass. New Hampshire is already including a bar code with its numbers. The license plate as we know it will eventually pass into history,” Lambe states sadly. “However, that should only add to the interest in old plates.”
If you happen to know where any old tags can be found, or would like to learn more about collecting license plates, contact Dr. Greg Lambe at oldcartagscl@hotmail.com.