In Quebec, motorists have been registering their vehicles for a hundred years now... As a matter of fact, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of vehicle registration, Montreal's Château Ramezay museum presented a temporary exposition called "From 'Q1' to 'Je Me Souviens', the history of car registration", from June 21st to the 28th.
"During the 20th century, even if it didn't take long for men to prefer cars instead of horses, they made the mistake of forgetting that horses would reliably get them back home, after having one drink too many". That's
what Guy Thibault, author of "L'immatriculation au Québec", said in an interview. He also pointed out that the first car accidents happened as soon as men went home alone, without their horse.
Nowadays, the five million people who use our roads holding their driver's license, probably can't imagine that the first motor vehicles weren't numerous enough to justify their management by legislation. It was the same for our American neighbours, as there were only 8 registered vehicles in 1897. Seven years later in the United States, there were 14,259.
During the time in Quebec, the automobile was becoming quite a curiosity. In fact, it's in 1906 that the first car was registered in Quebec, being the famous De Dion Bouton of Mr. Ucal Dandurand. Back then, since the vehicle owner had to create his own license plate, the De Dion Bouton was identified by the number Q1, painted on its body. At the end of that same year, there were 167 plated vehicles in Quebec.
Even if the expo is over at the Chateay Ramezey Museum, auto enthusiasts can still admire a portion of the collection on display, including the De Dion Bouton. To discover the history of car registration, you can purchase the book titled "L'immatriculation au Québec" for $34.95 at the Chateau Ramezay Museum. You can also ask for it in bookstores.
For those who are interested, Guy Thibault dreams of participating in other expositions on the history of car registration, and speak at conferences. You can join him by email at jojoguy@vif.com.
"During the 20th century, even if it didn't take long for men to prefer cars instead of horses, they made the mistake of forgetting that horses would reliably get them back home, after having one drink too many". That's
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| (Photo: Nathalie Mudita Aubut) |
Nowadays, the five million people who use our roads holding their driver's license, probably can't imagine that the first motor vehicles weren't numerous enough to justify their management by legislation. It was the same for our American neighbours, as there were only 8 registered vehicles in 1897. Seven years later in the United States, there were 14,259.
During the time in Quebec, the automobile was becoming quite a curiosity. In fact, it's in 1906 that the first car was registered in Quebec, being the famous De Dion Bouton of Mr. Ucal Dandurand. Back then, since the vehicle owner had to create his own license plate, the De Dion Bouton was identified by the number Q1, painted on its body. At the end of that same year, there were 167 plated vehicles in Quebec.
 |
| (Photo: Nathalie Mudita Aubut) |
For those who are interested, Guy Thibault dreams of participating in other expositions on the history of car registration, and speak at conferences. You can join him by email at jojoguy@vif.com.
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