| The Public Paperfolding History Project
Created 25/9/2021. Last updated 25/9/2026 x |
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| Folded Paper Birds | |||||||
| This
page is being used to collect information about the
history of folded paper birds. 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. There are separate pages for: Simple Cranes Cranes, Storks and Herons (modelled in a standing pose) Cranes, Storks and Herons (modelled in a flying pose) Cranes, Storks and Herons (modelled in a seated pose) Generic Flying Birds, Flying Doves, Flying Pigeons etc Generic Water Birds, Ducks, Swans and Geese Hens, Chickens, Chicks and Roosters Vultures and Condors and all the relevant information held on this page about these types of birds will eventually be moved to thiose pages. This page will then only hold information about folded paper birds that are either generic (ie simply identified as paper birds with no additional information that would tell us which specific design of paper bird is being referred to) or specifically identified but which do not fit into any of the categories for which there are separate pages. ********** The earliest known design of paper bird in the European tradition is the Cocotte / Pajarita. Definitive evidence of this design first appears in France in 1801 and in Spain in 1847. Earlier mentions of paper birds (and a few later ones) do not provide sufficient information for us to be able to identify which design of paper bird is being referred to. It seems to me that there are four possibilities: 1. They may be references to kites. It is often, but perhaps not always, possible to identify such usages because they mention aspects of the design which are specific to kites rather than folded paper birds, e.g. the string. 2. They may be references to the Cocotte / Pajarita design. It is particularly tempting to adopt this interpretation in the case of references to 'pajaras de papier', 'pajaritas' or 'pajaritas de papel'. However, just because these descriptors are used for the Cocotte / Pajarita design at a later date does not necessarily mean that earlier instances of their use should be taken to refer to the same design. 3. They may be references to the Paper Dart. Specific evidence that the Paper Dart has sometimes been interpreted as a paper bird does not appear until 1898. However, since the Paper Dart is bird-like, in the sense that it has wings and flies, it is possible that it was also interpreted in this way at a much earlier date. 4. They may be references to a design, or possibly several designs, of paper bird, possibly made largely by cutting rather than by folding, of which no illustration or sufficiently detailed written description has ever appeared in the historical literature and which we are therefore completely ignorant of. ********** 1664 'Dictionarium Gallico-Germanico-Latinum', by Nathanaël Duëz was published in Amsterdam in 1664. It contains mention, in three languages, of 'A paper bird and a paper boat, like children make in school.' This may perhaps be best interpreted as a reference to the Paper Dart, although, if it is, it is the earliest such reference known.
********** 1757 In a letter sent home to his mother from his school on the Isla Real de Leon, dated 10th July 1757, schoolboy Guillermo Pen wrote 'Con esta estratagema les hago callar; y despues para hacerme amigo de ellas, a unos les hago cometas, a otros barcas, navios, pajaros, y otras muchos cosas, todo de papel.' (With this ploy I silence them; and then to make friends with them, I make kites for some, for others boats, ships, birds, and many other things, all of paper.) His letter can be found in 'Entretenimiento de Los Ninos' by Monsieur Rochon, published in Madrid in both Spanish and French in 1779.
********** 1775 'Extrait du Journal de Mes Voyages' by M. Pahin de la Blancherie, which was published in Paris and Orleans in 1775 contains a passage which, roughly translated, reads, 'You can leave a child in his own home, I mean, in the room, when you know he can take care of himself ... I don't mean studying Latin, grammar, mythology, & c; but to use his time for something that will interest him: thus he will repeat his music lesson, he will make paper birds, houses of cards; he will paint on paper, he will build a kite, he will whittle wood, & c. If a child is well behaved, we can rest assured that being alone he will take care of himself.' This passage refers to the making of paper birds as if it is, like the building of card castles, an activity commonly practised by boys. Note that 'oiseaux de papier' here cannot mean 'kite' since the passage goes on to mention 'il batira un cerf-volant' (he will build a kite).
********** c1790 Around 1790 Juan González del Castillo (1763-1800) premiered the sainete 'Los cómicos de la legua', a work in which the character Pasqual says, roughly translated, 'although I went to school more than three years and a half, I only learned how to make hats and birds of paper'.
********** The Cocotte / Pajarita - 1801 onwards
********** The Simple Crane - c1850 This design appears on a kimono in this print in a book of shunga by Insuitei Shozan (1821-1907) from vol 2 of 'Iro Shiki Shi' which is undated, but is usually said to be from the mid 19th Century.
********** The Flapping Bird - 1883 onwards
********** 1885 An illustration of a Flying Crane appears in 'Kindergarten Shoho' (Preliminary Kindergarten) by Iijima Hanjuro, which was copyrighted on October 4th Meiji 17 (1884) and published by Fukuda Senzo in August of Meiji 18 (1885). This design appears to have both feet and a tail, although it is possible that these have been developed by cuts from a standard Paper Crane.
********** The Cut Swallow - 1900 onwards
********** 1903 A design for a simple 'crane' appears in 'Shukouka no Liron Oyobi Jissai' (Handicraft Theory and Practice) by Kuniho Nakamura and Shinpei Ito, which was published by Kofukan in Tokyo in 1903. It is not clear to me how the crease pattern relates to the drawing of the finished design.
********** The Albatross - 1904 onwards
********** The Nesting Crane - 1905 onwards
********** The Crow with Legs - 1914 onwards
********** A design for a 'Swallow' developed from a bird base appears in 'Zhe zhi tu shuo' (Illustrated Paperfolding), compiled by Gui Shaolie, which was published by the Commercial Press in Shanghai in Ming guo 3 (1914).
********** 1917 'Xu Zhe zhi tu shuo' (More Illustrated Paperfolding) by Yongxiang Shi, which was published by the Commercial Press in Shanghai in 1917, contains designs for several paper birds. Flying Pigeon
********** Fledgling
********** Young Swallow
********** Flying Bird
********** The Simple Crow - 1927 onwards
********** The Plump Crane - 1927 onwards
********** c1929 Booklet 3 of 'Trabajos Manuales Salvatella - Plegado de figuras de papel', which was published by Editorial Miguel A Salvatera in Barcelona around 1929, contains two designs for paper birds: La Paloma (Dove)
*** El Pavo (Turkey)
********** Both of these birds also appear in 'Una Hoja de Papel' by Lorenzo Herrero, which was published by Miguel A Salvatella in Barcelona in 1952: 'Golondrina' (Swallow)
*** 'Pavo' (Turkey)
********** Booklet 5 of 'Trabajos Manuales Salvatella - Plegado de figuras de papel', which was published by Editorial Miguel A Salvatera in Barcelona in or around 1929, contains diagams for 'El Condor', which is simply the front section of the Swallow paper plane, with extra folds to create the bend in the wings.
*** The same design appears in 'Una Hoja de Papel' by Lorenzo Herrero, which was published by Miguel A Salvatella in Barcelona in 1952.
********** 1931 Instructions for making several kinds of paper bird also appear in 'Origami (Part 1)' by Isao Honda, which was first published in Japan in 1931: Peacock
********** Simple Crane (2) - Folded from a 3x1 rectangle
********** The Fat Sparrow - 1931 onwards
********** The Dove - 1931 onwards
********** The Nightingale - 1931 onwards
********** Le Moineau - 1932 onwards
********** 1935 'Origami Moyo, Book One', by Kawarazaki Kodo, which was published by Unsodo in Japan in 1935, contains a coloured print showing a 'suzume' (sparrow) and two other prints showing unidentified bird designs:
***
********** 'Origami Moyo, Book Two' by Kawarazaki Kodo, which was published in Japan in 1935, contains: A third Simple Crane design
*** A print showing 'mizudori' (which means 'water birds')
*** And another print showing this bird, which is not given any title.
********** 1939 A version of the Flapping Bird folded from a cut hexagon, titled 'Paloma Siamesas' appears in 'Plegado' by Rufino Yapur, which was published by Editores Independencia in Buenos Aires in 1939.
********** 1941 A design for 'El Condor developed from a bird base appeared in 'Papiro-Zoo: Manual practico de cocotologia o papirologia' by Giordano Lareo, which was published by Larco in Buenos Aires in 1941.
********** The Cut Canary - 1944 onwards
********** The Cut Nightingale- 1944 onwards
********** The Standing Crane - 1944 onwards
********** 'Origami Shuko' by Isao Honda, which was published in 1944 contains diagrams for several other birds: 126. Duck and Cormorant (from right angle isosceles paper) These designs are attributed to Akira Yoshizawa.
*** Swallow (Cut) (from an equilateral triangle)
*** Pigeon (from an equilateral triangle) This design is attributed to Akira Yoshizawa.
*** Hummingbird (cut)
********** 1949 A heavily cut 'Bird That Flaps Its Wings' appears in 'Papercraft: How to make toys, favors and useful articles' by Joseph Leeming, which was published by Lipincott in Philadelphia in 1949.
********** La Pajarita Tergiversada - 1951 onwards
********** The Cut Robin - 1951 onwards
********** 1951 'Folding Paper for Children: Origami' by Claude Sarasas, which was published by Kodansha in Tokyo in 1951., contains diagrams for a cut 'Bird in a Nest'.
********** The extended version of 'El Mundo de Papel' by Dr Nemesio Montero, which was published by G Miranda in Edicions Infancia in Valladolid in 1951 contains several designs for paper birds, 'La Golondrina al Vuelo' (The Swallow in Flight), La Paloma (The Dove), El Cisne (The Swan) and El Pato (The Duck). ***
There is a resemblance between this design and the Swallow from Isao Honda's 'Origami Part One' pictured above. *** La Paloma
*** El Cisne
*** El Pato
********** 1956 'Paper Magic' by Robert Harbin, which was published by Oldbourne in London in 1956 contains diagrams for several birds. Harbin's 'Eagle' and 'Crow' (Cut)
*** Harbin's 'Turkey' (Cut)
*** The Homing Pigeon (attributed gto Rolf Harris)
********** The Cut Flying Heron - 1957 onwards
********** 1959 A heavily cut design for a 'Pigeon (Hato)' appears in 'Origami: Volume 2' by Tokinobu and Hideko Mihara, which was published by the Oriental Culture Book Company in San Francisco, most probably in 1960.
*** Two very similar designs appear as 'Bush Warblers A and B' in 'Happy Origami: Butterfly Book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Biken-Sha in 1964.
*** 'Bush Warbler B' appears just as 'Bush Warbler' in 'Origami Fun Book: Squirrel Book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Biken-Sha in Matsuyama, Japan in 1967.
********** The 1959 Rupert Annual contains a design for 'Rupert's Paper Bird' which is probably an original design by Alfred Bestall.
********** A very simple design for a cut 'Swan' appears in 'Fun-time Paper Folding' by Elinor Tripato Massoglio, which was published by Childrens Press in Chicago in 1959.
********** The Cut Flying Crane - 1960 onwards
********** The Seagull - 1960 onwards
********** The Cut Turkey - 1960 onwards
********** A design for 'A Cochin' appears in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. Cochin is a breed of chicken.
********** Two desigs for simple birds appear in 'Origami: The Oriental Art of Paper Folding' by Harry C Helfman, which was published by Platt and Munk Co Inc in New York in 1960.
*** Sea Gull
********** 1962 A 2-part compound design for a 'Bird of Paradise' appears in 'Pop-Up Origami: Johnny Book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Biken-Sha in Japan in 1962.
*** 1967 The same design appears in 'Origami Fun Book: Squirrel Book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Biken-Sha in Matsuyama, Japan in 1967.
********** 1963 Several designs for paper birds appear in the second edition of 'Het Grote Vouwboek' by Aart van Breda, which was published by Uitgeverij van Breda in 1963. Vogeltje
*** Vogelnestje (Bird's Nest)
********** Der Kip op Het Nest (Hen on its Nest)
********** 1964 A design for a 'Wild Goose' folded from a square appears in 'Happy Origami: Tortoise book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Biken-Sha in Japan in 1964.
*** A very similar design appears as 'Wild Goose' in 'Origami Fun Book: Seals Book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Shikuko Hoikukan in Matsuyama, Japan in 1966.
********** The Cut Sparrow - 1965 onwards
********** The Chick - 1965 onwards
********** The Cut Dove - 1965 onwards
********** 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published in the USA by Japan Publications Trading Company in 1965, contains designs for several birds: *** A cut 'Swallow' from an equilateral triangle in which cuts are used to separate the two halves of the tail.
*** A 'Wild Duck' (from an equilateral triangle)
*** A 'Quacking Duck' (from a 60 / 120 degree rhombus)
*** Baby Chick
********** 1966 A cut design for a 'Birdie' appears in 'Origami Fun Book: Seals Book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Shikuko Hoikukan in Matsuyama, Japan in 1966.
*** The same design appears as 'Birdie' in 'Origami Land: Birdie Book' by Tatsuo Miyawaki, which was published by Biken-Sha in Matsuyama, Japan in 1967.
********** 1970 The 1970 Rupert Annual contains instructions for making a 'Mystery Bird' which can be varied to look like a kiwi, a vulture or a bittern.
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