This photograph of a man in uniform seems to have been taken in front of a military barracks during WWII. Of more interest to us, though, is the license plate on the car. The Zia containing the 2-digit year on the plate appears to be damaged to an extent that the year is unreadable in the photograph. Nonetheless, the presence of the slogan “The Land of Enchantment” at the top, along with the absence of a county number prefix, tells us that the year has to be between 1941 and 1946, inclusive. Within that date range, only 1944 and 1945 plates had light colored numerals on a dark background. The Zia on 1944 plates was slightly larger than that of 1945, placed slightly higher, and with the top rays slightly truncated. These characteristics definitively identify this plate as being from 1944. NMplates collection.
Georgia O’Keeffe and fellow Santa Fe artist Maurice Grosser were photographed by Maria Chabot as they headed out on a trip to Abiquiu on Grosser’s 1938 Harley Big Twin. Georgia O’Keeffe Hitching a ride to Abiquiu with Maurice Grosser, 1945 [sic]. Maria Chabot photographic print, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Gift of Maria Chabot (1998.4.1), © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
NMSP Officer Floyd Miles in Vaughn, N.M., 1944. Courtesy
Sgt. Ron Taylor, NMSP Historian.
The bike bearing this 1944 NM motorcycle plate is a 1941 Harley-Davidson Overhead Valve Big Twin Knucklehead. Courtesy Albuquerque Museum.