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Last updated 8/10/2026

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'Boite aux Lettres' was a supplement to 'La Nature'. Various issues between July 1887 and January 1888 contained diagrams for paperfolding designs, which were subsequently also published in Gaston Tissandier's 'La Science Pratique'. The information on this page was kindly provided by Michel Grand.

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2nd July 1887

Boite en papier - The Catherine of Cleve Box

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9th July 1887

Confection d'un soufflet en papier - The Bellows

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6th August 1887

Boite en papier pour servir des fruits a la campagne (Paper box for serving country fruits) - The Junk Box

and How to Construct Accurate Right Angles by Folding Paper

Roughly translated the second section reads: 'We are sometimes in a bind if we don't have a set square handy to cut something or to draw a perpendicular. In this case take a piece of paper and fold it in four, very precisely, and you will have a perfect set square.'

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17th September 1887

Boite en papier - The Patisserie Box

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20th October 1887

Un ballon en papier - The Waterbomb

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7th January 1888

The 2-Part Silveroctahedron

Ballon fait sans rognure avec un carre de papier ou d'etoffe (Balloon made without offcuts from a sheet of paper or cloth). The design is made in two parts which then need to be glued or sewn together.

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