First Edition. The "Golden Book" of the Great Aviation Week at Reims, the world's first air meet, held August 22-29, 1909 at what is now the Base Aérienne 112 in Reims-Champagne. "By the end of the week, [Hubert] Latham had reached a height of 155 meters (508 feet) to win the altitude contest, Henri Farman had flown for three hours and fifteen minutes, covering 180 kilometers (approximately 112 miles) to win the Grand Prix, [Louis] Blériot had secured the prize for the fastest speed over 10 kilometers (at 76.95 kilometers per hour, 47.75 miles per hour), Farman had won the passengers' prize by carrying two passengers around la piste, and [Étienne] Bunau-Varilla had flown 62 miles to win a mechanics' prize for his team. . . . American Glenn Curtiss won two prizes for speed, the Prix de la Vitesse (for averaging 75 kilometers per hour, 46.63 miles per hour, over three 10-kilometer laps), and the Gordon Bennett trophy for averaging 75.7 kilometers per hour (47.02 miles per hour) over 20 kilometers" (Hallion, Taking Flight [2003], p. 260). The Livre d'or, profusely illustrated with pictures of the aviators and their machines, was compiled by Georges Henri Laignier, a member of the Reims meet's organizing committee.

Price: $3,750.00