David Mitchell's Origami Heaven - History - Folded Paper Cubes and Cuboids

The Public Paperfolding History Project Main Index Page Last updated 15/10/2025 x
Folded Paper Cubes and Cuboids

This page is being used to collect information about the history of folded paper cubes and cuboids, whether cut or uncut, single-sheet or modular. Please contact me if you know any of this information is incorrect or if you have any other information that should be added. Thank you. This page is about the construction of polyhedra from regular starting shapes. Information about the construction of cut and fold icosahedra from irregular nets can be found here. ******** The Tematebako - 1734 onwards ****** The Playing Card Cube - 1759 onwards ****** Prior to 1852 Part Two of 'Friedrich Froebel's Gesammelte padogogische schriften' (Friedrich Froebel's Collected Educational Writings) edited by Wichard Lange, which was published in two parts in 1862, contains an article by Froebel which contains reference to making folded paper cubes, although the method is not given. The original article must date to before 1852 when Froebel died. ****** The Waterbomb - 1863 onwards ****** The Two-Ring Cube - 1889 onwards (Aka The Third Construction of the Cube) ****** The Second Construction of the Cube (Cut) - 1890 onwards ****** The Fourth Construction of the Cube (Cut) - 1890 onwards ****** The Fifth Construction of the Cube (Cut) - 1890 onwards ****** c1929 Booklet 4 of 'Trabajos Manuales Salvatella - Plegado de figuras de papel', which was published by Editorial Miguel A Salvatera in Barcelona in or around 1929, contains diagrams for 'El Cubo', a one piece cube folded from a square divided into a 5x5 grid. * The same booklet contains diagrams for 'Paralelepipedo' a cuboid folded from a 5 x 9 oblong. ******** 1940 'El Plegado y Cartonaje en la Escuela Primaria' by Antonio M Luchia and Corina Luciani de Luchia, which was published by Editorial Kapelusz in Buenos Aires in 1940, contains instructions showing how to make a cube in four different ways, one of which is the Two-Ring Cube (see above) and the other three of which use cuts. Construccion del Cubo (2) - Construction of a Cube from a 4x4 Grid using Cuts ****** Construccion del Cubo (3) - Construction of a Cube from a 3x4 Grid using Cuts ****** The Mystery Box - 1944 onwards ****** The Color Box / Sonobe Cube - 1968 onwards ********