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Last updated 22/8/2025

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The Materials section of the work contains the following acknowledgements:

Despite these acknowledgements it is clear from a comparison of the works that the material in the work is drawn from 'Exercises Methodiques de Travaux Manuels au Moyen de Pliage de Papier' by Jean Boogaerts, which was published in Belgium and France in 1890. I cannot trace either of thew journals mentioned or indeed M Grandchamp of Geneva. It is possible, though perhaps somewhat unlikely, that M Martin is M P Martin, the author of 'L'Annee Preparatoire de Travail Manuel', which was published in Paris in 1893.

The Introduction makes it clear that the work is intended to be a bridge between manual training in the kindergarten and in the fifth grade. The work does not specify which exercises are considered suitable for which grade.

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The full text of the Introduction is given below.

The work includes a final chapter about woodworking aimed at Grade 5, which is not otherwise reproduced or discussed on this page

A full copy of the work can be accessed online here.

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Analysis

Designs made using paper strips

Many different kinds of designs made by folding, weaving and/or arranging paper strips appear in this section of the work. Those that involve folding are:

Simple interlaced forms - Verschnuren

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Simple borders - Borders and Corners

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Simple braided forms - Braiding

The author calls the double right-angle turn in a strip of paper a 'Froebelian knot'

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The Doubled Square

This design, made by weaving two strips of paper together, provides a way of linking strips together, since they can be threaded through it in either direction.

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Designs made from curled strips threaded through the Doubled Square

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Roundels / Quilling patterns

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Designs made from cardboard squares and oblongs

The Doubled Square - The Playing Card Square

These designs are used as tiles and also linked together. just by themselves, and using strips, to create many two and three-dimensional forms. See Selected Pages below for more information.

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The author also shows how similar rectangular tiles can be made, though their use is not explained in detail.

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The Cube - The Playing Card Cube

The work shows how to cut the centres from the modules to create an outline cube,

how to clad the cube with six other modules

how to link the cubes together by interweaving the flaps and or using joining modules to produce towers and buildings

and geometrical forms.

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Designs made from paper squares and oblongs

The Second Construction of the Cube (and Cuboids)

Cuts are used to create flaps that create the top and bottom of the cube, which have a diagonal slit across them. They can be threaded onto paper strips to create decorative and geometric constructions.

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The Third Construction of the Cube - The Two-Ring Cube

This is a two-part modular design. Cubes can be threaded onto paper strips to produce chains.

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The Fourth Construction of the Cube

This cube is heavily cut.

Picture 57 shows a cube in which one corner has been inverted.

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The Fifth Construction of the Cube (with Lid)

This cube is constructed from an irregular template cut from a square. Additional cuts allow the cube to be folded up with overlapping flaps inside the design. A stronger result can be obtained by nesting two cubes together, the inner one having its flaps on the outside. The missing face of the cube is supplied by making a lid using a similar method. One version of the design is made from a rectangle, another from a square divided into 5x5 grid. However, no method of achieving an accurate division into such a grid is given.

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The Sixth Construction of the Cube

This cube is made from cardboard faces supplied with tabs and pockets to link them together.

The work also shows how to use the same method to create other designs.

A comparison is drawn with mortice and tenon joints in carpentry.

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Selected Pages

To make the work easier to understand, the order in which of some of the pages appear has been altered.

Introduction

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Materials required

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Designs made using paper strips

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Designs made from cardboard squares and oblongs

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Designs made from paper squares and oblongs

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Index

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