Almost complete collection of his first magazine L’Echo du Cerf-Volant.

Set of 12 issues, 4 pp. each, the first 235 x 155 mm, subsequent issues 310 x 200 mm.

Near-complete collection and only known copy of L'Echo du Cerf-Volant, the pioneering “non-motorized aviation” magazine founded in 1908 by 16-year-old Georges Houard.

This hitherto lost youth production is mentioned by Georges Houard in Les Ailes n°913 (December 15, 1938, p. 3), which commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of its creation (December 15, 1908) and specifies a print run of forty copies.
Another mention comes from Edmond Blanc in Toute l'aviation (1930 p. 483), who traces Georges Houard's career:
“Let's jump ahead to 1908. A schoolboy by the name of Georges Houard was passionately following the early days of the Wright brothers. His only aircraft was a kite [...]. He founded L'Echo du Cerf-Volant, with a print run of thirty copies, using mimeographed pulp. Delagrange encouraged him. The press reported him."

In August 1909, the magazine changed its name to Le Cerf-Volant. The magazine continued to appear until 1914 and after the war. Houard then founded one of the most famous aeronautical magazines, Les Ailes, which he ran until 1960.

This almost complete set of L'Echo du Cerf-Volant most probably comes from Georges Houard's personal papers.
It comprises 7 issues (in all likelihood out of 8), plus 4 second-edition issues and a special first-quarter issue, for a total of 12 issues.
The set is completed by three issues of amateur youth gazettes, reflecting Georges Houard's promotional activities for L'Écho du Cerf-Volant:

• An issue of La Jeune France (November 26, 1908, 1st year n°5) announcing on page 3, in the sports section: “We have the honor of announcing to our readers the appearance of a confrère du Sport; croyons-nous : L'Écho du Cerf-Volant, whose director is Mr. G. Houard 19 rue Froment”.
• A free issue of La Jeune France (October 1908) received by Houard, mentioning Wilbur Wright's success.
• An issue of Jeunesse-Journal (March 1909, 1st year, no. 1) containing an article on aeroplanes and kites at the Paris Fair, no doubt written by Georges Houard and signed “de L'Écho du cerf-volant”.

No copies of these amateur magazines have been found in online library collections.

An autograph model by Houard for a magazine project entitled Les Sports-Aériens (circa 1910) completes this set.

Exceptional and rare pioneering documents for unpowered aviation and its press.

5 000€

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Almost complete collection of his first magazine L'Echo du Cerf-Volant. quantity

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