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Last updated 14/1/2025

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This article by Albers headed 'Pliages de papier' and subheaded 'L'echelle de bambou' explained how to make The Newspaper Ladder. The author states that this fold is of Chinese origin. Roughly, 'When I looked at the Library of the Guimet Museum for the true origin, not of the cut-out Chinese shadows, but of the shadows with my hands (La Nature du 29 Septembre 1894) I had the good fortune to discover a folding of paper that was unpublished. This Chinese folding can do well among the Japanese folds that I have undertaken to describe and it is time to make it known.'

The final paragraph describes how to make a version of The Newspaper Sword, roughly, 'The rolled paper ... is also used in conjuring to produce a candle from a hat. It uses a strip of strong glossy white paper, ten to twelve centimetres wide and several meters long, which has been rolled up, not very tight, and fixed so as not to unwind. In the center of the roll, a five-minute candle match was fixed in a thin metal tube, protruding a little. It is a game, for a prestidigitateur to introduce without being seen this little roll in a hat. At the desired moment, passing a sandpaper over the match, it ignites it, and, drawing the paper through the center by means of the small tube (fig. 4) carrying the match, it lengthens the candle which reaches a length of two meters and seems to come lit from the hat.'

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