Baden F.S. Baden-Powell’s Manlifting Levitor. 1895.  No photos or film I can find.  Was it flat or bowed?

Charles Lamson’s Aerocurve, 1901

Samuel Franklin Cody’s Bat 1901 The best film is actually for a french aerial photography unit in 1917. The Cody kite is still used occasionally for high-wind aerial photography. Turn off the music.
 

Rudolph Grund’s “Self Steering” Meteorological Kites, 1905-1940. They apparently adjusted their bridles to wind speed. There is certainly some rigging trick to learn from this series.