1909: France Flies, England Worries

On July 25, 1909, the French aviator Louis Blériot climbed into a monoplane in Calais, France, and flew to Dover, England. He made history. No one had crossed the English Channel in an aircraft before.

The next day, his flight dominated the European edition of The New York Herald, which later became the International Herald Tribune, now celebrating its 125th anniversary.

In a way, the flight was the Sputnik of its day, boosting national pride (for the French) and creating fear (for the British). It also tapped into emotions that are familiar today - excitement over technology's ability to weave the world together, but anxiety over whether this was an altogether good thing.

The Herald printed excerpts of reaction from newspapers on both sides of the Channel.

The French could barely contain their elation.

”The crossing of the Channel gives the impression of a definite conquest,'' said Pétite Republique. ‘‘It is the suppression o f the Channel. It is the realization of a dream which has long been entertained. It gives to mankind, to ourselves, poor mortals who have not yet left the ground, a sensation of mastery over the air such as we have not yet felt.''

The London press was gracious, though occasionally grudging. The Standard praised Blériot's ‘‘pluck and dexterity'' but sniffed, ‘‘The Channel steamer service is not yet threatened nor are we appreciably nearer the day when friends or enemies will fly to our shores.''

The Daily Express observed: ‘‘Great Britain has ceased to be an island.”

Other British newspapers described a bruise to national esteem and expressed alarm over a darker future.

Under the headline ‘‘Shock to Englishmen,'' an excerpt from The Morning Post said: ‘‘We are a cautious race, skeptical of all innovation. … But here it is: conjecture and theorizing are at an end. This country not only can be, but has been reached, by mech anical flight. While fully and freely congratulating M. Blériot, it is impossible not to feel a touch of jealousy that this historic achievement has not fallen to the lot of an Englishman.''

‘‘Wake up, England!'' roared another headline, under which The Daily Graphic noted: ‘‘What M. Blériot can do in 1909 a hundred, nay, a thousand, aeroplanes may be able to do in five years … a machine which can fly from Calais to Dover is not a toy, but an instrument of warfare which soldiers an statesmen must take into account.''

A half-decade later, the dogfight became a staple of World War I combat. Three decades later, English people huddled in subway stations to hide from the terror of German bombs dropped from the sky.

Photographs from the archives of the International Herald Tribune will be sold on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. at the auction house Drouot in Paris.