I cannot be 100% certain about the very earliest boats, but I do know that by the late fifties most dinghies – of all classes – had kickers. I moved up from rowing to sailing in 1958, and kickers were certainly in general use by that time.
Typically just a 2:1 or 3:1 purchase (see attached photos), and they were intended only to prevent the boom rising when off the wind, and especially during a gybe, not to actively bend the mast in order to depower the sail. By the late fifties or early sixties the full width mainsheet horse had become popular as a means of controlling sail twist in stronger winds when off the wind; and if your spars are commensurate with the age of your boat I would strongly suggest that you follow that lead – i.e. content yourself with quite modest kicker purchase and use a full width sheet horse to control sail twist. Spars of that age may well not be strong enough to safely handle the loads imposed by modern high-power kickers.
Hope this helps,
Oliver
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