Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Collection
SPC.1996.001
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: 1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Collection
source:
Grenier, Judson
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.1996.001
Physical Description:
13 boxes
Physical Description:
6 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1909-2010; undated
Abstract: This collection includes newsclippings, photos, books, journal articles, ephemera, correspondence, and minutes related to
the aviation meet held on Dominguez Hill in 1910. Subjects include: early aviation history and early aviators; the Aviation
Meet of Los Angeles (1910-1911); anniversaries; a commemorative airshow; and the Aviation Meet Committee. Material from the
collection is available online by visiting the
1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Digital Collection .
Physical Location: oversize material related to this collection is located in map case 2, drawer 11.
Language of Material:
English
, French
.
There are no access restrictions on this collection except aviation related papers written by students. Please contact the
Gerth Archives and Special Collections if you have any questions.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
For information about citing archival material, see the
Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records in this collection were collected over a twenty year period by CSUDH archivists and members of the Dominguez Air
Meet Committee. This committee was formed in 1996 with the purpose of creating the most comprehensive repository of materials
about and relating to the 1910 meet. In 2006, the committee was renamed the 1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet at
Dominguez Flying Field Committee and members renewed their work for the upcoming Aviation Meet centennial.
The collection was processed in the Fall of 1996 and was opened to research without restrictions. In 2006, the collection
was reevaluated, additions were made, and it was reopened. In 2019, the collection was again reevaluated and the finding aid
was updated to reflect the addition of newly aquired material. Additional material was added in 2024 and the entire finding
aid was updated by Jennifer Hill. It is currently a growing collection, with contributions from members of the community and
the Aviation Meet Committee.
This finding aid was created as part of the Early Los Angeles/Rancho San Pedro Manuscript Cataloging Project, a CSU Dominguez
Hills Library project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project started in 2005.
Project Director was Greg Williams. Project Archivists were Thomas Philo and Jennifer Allan Goldman.
Following the Reims International Aviation Meet in 1909, enthusiasm for aviation began to increase in the United States. In
between meets in the South, Charles Willard and Roy Knabenshue discussed holding a meet in the winter, with Los Angeles being
a good choice for weather reasons. After receiving a promise of participation from Glenn Curtiss in New York, Knabenshue contacted
Dick Ferris, a Los Angeles athletic promoter and balloon enthusiast. Ferris gained the support of the local business community,
formed an organizing committee, and Curtiss and Willard out to Los Angeles to find a suitable location for the meet.
The first location considered was a field in Santa Anita, but physical obstructions such as tall trees led the aviators to
search for another site. About a month before the January start date, Dominguez Field was agreed upon. This field was located
on the top of a small hill in land once a part of the Ranch San Pedro, an early Spanish land grant. The dates were set as
January 10 to 20, with eleven full days of events planned. Once the site was settled, promotion of the meet began and grandstands
were erected. Also, an expanded passenger platform was constructed at the Pacific Electric Station located closest to the
Aviation Meet site to accommodate the large number of spectators expected to attend the event. Organizers invited a variety
of participants to pilot airplanes, balloons, and dirigibles, including Louis Paulhan, a French aviator known for his flying
at the Reims Meet. Because the meet was being billed as "international," Paulhan's participation was crucial and he was guaranteed
a small sum of money as encouragement to attend. Cash prizes were allotted for scheduled events, including altitude, speed,
and endurance competitions
Aviation Meet spectators were thrilled by the performances of aviators Louis Paulhan, Glenn Curtiss, Charles Willard, and
others. Paulhan brought to the event two Bleriot Monoplanes, two Farman Biplanes, and an entourage which included his wife,
two student pilots/mechanics, the Baron and Madame de Pennendreff, and his black poodle. At the aviation meet he set a new
altitude record (4164 ft.), endurance record (64 miles in 1 hr. 49 minutes 40 seconds), and won $14,000 in prize money. Glenn
Curtiss won two events-fastest speed with a passenger (55 mph) and quickest start (6 2/5 seconds covering 98 ft.). Curtiss
took home $6500 in prize money. Charles Willard was credited with the most accurate take off and landing skills, for which
he receive a prize totaling $250. Attendance at the meet surpassed all expectations. An estimated 226,000
spectators purchased tickets for the show, with up to 250,000 in attendance overall, and gate receipts for the event equaled
over $137,500. The event was considered a phenomenal success and helped to alleviate a perceived economic drought in the Los
Angeles area. Annual aviation meets were held on Dominguez Field in 1911 and 1912.
The 1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Collection (1910-2010; undated) includes six linear feet related
to the 1910 Airmeet at Dominguez Hills, the 1911-1913 Airmeets at Dominguez Hills, and anniversary events related to the 1910
Airmeet.
The first series includes primarily reproduced posters, tickets, and programs from the 1910-1912 Dominguez Airmeets and other
Airmeets worldwide. The second series comprises primarily reproduced newspaper clippings and articles related to the 1910
Airmeet. One scrapbook, most likely compiled by Oliver Jones Jr., contains newspaper clippings related to aviation. The third
series contains journals and magazines about the Los Angeles Air Meets. Original publications include "Leslie Weekly," "Sunset:
The Magazine of the Pacific and of All the Far West," and "Out West: The Aviation Number." The fourth series contains maps
related to the grandstands and maps of the 1910 Airmeet.
The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth series contains anniversary and committee-related material from the Dominguez Hills
Commemorative Airshow and other events commemorating the anniversary of the 1910 Airmeet. Series nine includes photographs,
slides, films, stereographs, AV material, and postcards related to the 1910 Airmeet. Some material is reproductions produced
later than the airmeet.
The tenth series includes sheet music related to aviation. The eleventh series contains buttons, banners, airmeet shirts,
and other ephemera. The twelfth series includes research and reference material primarily from other institutions in the South
Bay.
This collection is arranged into twelve series. Series IX, has four subseries: Photographs and Photograph Albums, Stereographs,
Postcards, and Cassettes, DVDS, VHS Tapes, and Reel to Reel Tapes.
- Series I. Programs, tickets, posters, and contract proposal for Aviation Meets
- Series II. Newspaper and Newspaper Clippings related to Los Angeles Air Meets
- Series III. Journal and Magazine Articles related to the Los Angeles Air Meets
- Series IV. Maps related to the Los Angeles Air Meets
- Series V. Anniversaries and Marker Dedications for the 1910 Los Angeles Air Meet
- Series VI. California State University, Dominguez Hills Commemorative Airshow
- Series VII. Committee Papers
- Series VIII. Other Events and Presentations related to the 1910 Los Angeles Air Meet
- Series IX. Photographs, Slides Films, Stereographs, Postcards, and AV Material
- Series X. Sheet Music
- Series XI. Aviation Ephemera
- Series XII. Research and Reference Material
For local history related material please consult the Rancho San Pedro Reference Collection. For material related to aviation
please consult the Northrop Millar Collection, Vernon Johns Family Papers, Aviation Magazine, Giacinta Bradley Koontz Aviation
Sheet Music Collection, and Mary Nolf Diaries and Correspondence for a diary entry regarding the airmeet. Material from the
collection is available online by visiting the
1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Digital Collection .
Books related to aviation history at California State University, Dominguez Hills include
Boyne, Walter J. "The Smithsonian Book of Flight". New York: Orion Books, 1987,
Bynum, Lindley and Idwal Jones. "Biscailuz, sheriff of the new West". New York: Morrow, 1950,
Gibbs-Smith, Charles Harvard. "Aviation: An Historical Survey from its Origins to the end of World War II". London,: Her Majesty's
Stationery Office, 1970,
Harris, Sherwood. "The First to Fly: Aviations Pioneer Days". New York: Simon and Schuster, 1970,
Prendergast, Curtis. "The First Aviators". Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1980,
Prendergast, Curtis. Schoneberger, William A. "California Wings: A History of Aviation in the Golden State". Woodland Hills,
CA,: Windsor Publications, 1984,
and
Villard, Henry Serrano. "Contact! The Story of the Early Birds". New York: Thomas V. Crowell, Co., 1968.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Navigation (Aeronautics)
Aeronautics
Aeronautics -- Competitions
1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet at Dominguez Field
Dominguez Hills (Calif.)
Paulhan, Louis
Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 1878-1930
Knabenshue, Roy, -1960
Beachey, Lincoln
Willard, Charles
Grenier, Judson