| The Public Paperfolding History Project
Last updated 15/1/2025 x |
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| Paperfolding in La Nature | |||||||
| This
page records articles and pictures etc relating to
paperfolding which have been published in the French
magazine 'La Nature' over the years. 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. I am indebted to Michel Grand for providing the majority of these references. ********** 1880 La Nature Issue 366 of June 5th, 1880 contains an article headed 'La physique sans appareils' written by Gaston Tissandier which describes how to melt tin in a folded playing card without burning the card. ********** La Nature Issue 370 of July 3rd, 1880 contains an article headed 'La physique sans appareils' written by Gaston Tissandier which describes how to boil water in a paper box without burning the paper. The drawing shows that this paper box is the origami design known as the Junk Box. ********** 1881 La Nature Issue 399 of 22nd January 1881 contained an article by Gaston Tissandier titled 'La Physique sans Appareils' which, inter alia, explained and illustrated the Spiral Snake effect. ********** La Nature Issue 427 of 6th August 1881 contained an article headed 'Sur les tourbillons annulaires des liquides et des gaz', written by Adrien Guebhard, which describes how to obtain smoke rings from a Playing Card Cube. ********** 1884 La Nature Issue 578 of June 28th, 1884 contained an article headed 'Recreations scientifiques' and sub-headed ' Le tableau a trois faces', written by A Bergeret, which describes how to make a Multiple Image Pleated Paper Picture. ********** 1885 La Nature Issue 605 of January 3rd, 1885 contains an article headed 'Physique sans appareils' written by Gaston Tissandier which explains how to produce coal gas using a Paper Cone. ********** La Nature Issue 621 of 25th April 1885 contains an anonymous article headed 'Recreations scientifiques' and subheaded 'Un oiseau mecanigue en papier' (mechanical paper bird) which explains how to make and operate The Flapping Bird. The article includes the information that this design originated with 'les prestidigitateurs japonais' (Japanese conjurors). Source: Article by Christophe Curat and Michel Grand in Le Pli 131 of November 2013. English translations of the article appear in British Origami 286 of June 2014 and The Paper 116 of Summer 2014. The information that the Flapping Bird originated with Japanese conjurors is intriguing. However, there is no direct historical evidence to support this statement it and it may be that a Japanese origin was imputed to make the design seem more mysterious, as happened with Troublewit and other paperfolding designs. ********** 1887 La Nature Issue 709 of 1st January 1887 contained an article headed 'Recreations scientifiques' and subheaded 'Les anneaux de papier' which is attributed to a 'Dr Z...' ********** 1888 La Nature Issue 762 of 7th January 1888 contained an article written by Dr Z which explained 'Un curieux tourniquet', a rotating disc of paper driven by the heat of the hands. ********** La Nature Issue 804 of 27th October 1888 contained an article headed 'Sur La Densite des Gaz' which pictured an apparatus made by attaching cardboard cones to a rotating disc. ********** La Nature Issue 808 of 24th November 1888 contained an article by Arthur Good (who also wrote under the nom de plume Tom Tit) headed 'Recreations scientifiques' and sub-headed 'Transformation d'une carte a jouer' which explains How to Make a Chain from a Playing Card. ********** 1889 La Nature of 9th March 1889 contained an article headed 'Recreations scientifiques' and sub-headed 'La croix de papier' which described the Fold and One Cut Latin Cross as a puzzle and showed how the pieces could be arranged to form a Calvary. ********** La Nature Issue 852 25th September 1889 contained an article headed 'Recreation scientifiques' and subheaded 'La grenouille japonaise en papier' (The Japanese Paper Frog) which explains how to make the Blow-up Frog (though the author does not appear to be aware that the frog can be inflated). The article is attributed to 'Dr Z...'. I do not know who used this nom de plume. ********** 1892 La Nature Issue 998 of 16th July 1892 contained an article by Arthur Good explaining how to build a launch tube for a Paper Parachute. ********** 1894 La Nature Issue 1093 of 12th May 1894 contained an article by 'Dr Z...' headed 'Recreations scientifiques' and subheaded 'Papier decoupe formant un filet' which explains how to make the Fold and Slit Trellis. The opening paragraph reads, roughly, 'We have previously p1ublished several recreations that can be made with paper; we gave the way of making a bird, whose wings can be made to move. This invention is Japanese; the Japanese made it known, with great success, at the Exposition of Paris in 1889.' However, footnote 1 makes it clear that the previous publication of the flapping bird in 'La Nature' was in 1885. ********** La Nature Issue 1093 of 22nd June 1894 contained an article by Dr Z headed 'Recreations scientifiques' and subheaded 'Une ceinture faite avec un morceau de papier' (A belt made with a piece of paper) which explains a version of the How to Climb Through a Playing Card fold and cut effect ********** 1930 From sometime in the first half of 1930 onwards 'La Nature' began to carry an occasional column written by the magician Alber, also known as Alber-Graves, the stage name of Jean Jacques Édouard Graves (1845 - 1941). At first these columns were explanations of how stage illusions worked but from December 1930 on some of these columns featured paperfolding and cutting. ********** La Nature Issue 2847 of 15th December 1930 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliages de papier' explaining how to fold 'La bonbonierre japonaise' (The Japanese Box). The article also mentions 'le chapeau de gendarme (presumably the Newspaper Hat) qui est l'ancestre de tous les pliages, puis la cocotte, le bateau double, etc.,' ********** 1931 La Nature Issue 2848 of 1st January 1931 contained an article by Alber headed 'Les pliages de papier' and subheaded 'Le crabe' which explained how to fold a crab from a frog base using cuts to double the number of available legs. ********** La Nature Issue 2853 of 15th March 1931 contained an 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.' ********** La Nature Issue 2855 of 15th April 1931 contained an article by Albers headed 'Pliages de papier' and subheaded 'Le sac a bonbons' which explained how to make The Star-Shaped Box. Albers comments, roughly translated, 'Several similar folds have been sent to me by different readers, MM, Larrier, a Marseille, E. J, a W etc,. Because they bear a great similarity to the box above I have not published these folds ...' ********** La Nature Issue 2866 of 1st October 1931 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'Le sachet a foulards' (The Bag for Scarves) which explained how to make The Chrysanthemum Box. ********** La Nature Issue 2870 of 1st December 1931 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'L'oiseau qui bat des ailes' which explained (again) how to fold explained how to fold 'l'oiseau japonais' (The Flapping Bird) ********** La Nature Issue 2871 of 15th December 1931 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'La theiere japonaise' (The Japanese Teapot) which explained how to make the a version of The Kettle with a hole cut in the top. ********** 1932 La Nature Issue 2872 of 1st January 1932 contained an article by Alber headed 'Dechirures et Dechiquetures de Papier' (Paper Tearing and Shredding?) which explained how to make Paper Doilies and and The Newspaper Pagoda design, described as, roughly, 'a curious combination, of the same genre, which is presented in the music halls'. ********** La Nature Issue 2878 of 1st April contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'Le soufflet' which explained how to fold The Bellows. ********** La Nature Issue 2890 of 1st October 1932 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'La grenouille sauteuse' (The Jumping Frog) which explained how to fold The Inflatable Frog (although the author does not appear to know the design can be inflated). ********** La Nature Issue 2894 of 1st December 1932 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'Le kiosque japonais'. ********** 1934 La Nature Issue 2930 of 1st June 1934 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'La boite a air' which explains how to make a Waterbomb. ********** La Nature Issue 2940 of 1st November 1934 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'L'iris' which explains how to fold the Lily. ********** 1935 La Nature Issue 2944 of 1st January 1935 contained an article by Alber headed 'Dechirures et Dechiquetures de Papier' (Paper Tearing and Shredding?) which explained how to present the making of several versions of the Chain of Dolls and Paper Doilies as magical effects. ********** La Nature Issue 2966 of 1st December 1935 contained an article by Alber headed 'Pliage de papiers' and subheaded 'Vase ou lanterne' which explains how to make a simple fold and cut container. ********** |
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