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Last updated 6/3/2024

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There are, of course, two different kinds of paper boats, those that float and those that do not. Both types are included within the same chronology on this page.

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The Paper Boat - 1490 onwards

First appears in the West in 1490 (possibly) and in Japan in 1713.

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1605

'Libro de los sermones de los santos' by Miguel Perez de Heredia was published in 1605. It contains mention of a 'barco de papel'.

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1606

'The Returne from Parnassus', a play by an unknown author, performed by the students of St John's College, Cambridge, in 1606, contains mention of a 'paper boate' (see third line from bottom below).

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1621

In 'Urania', published in 1621, Mary Wroath, Countess of Montgomerie, describes an errant ship: ‘unguided she was, unrul’d, and unman’d, tumbling up and downe, like the Boates boyes make of paper, and play withall upon little brookes’.

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1640

Under-Woods' by Ben Johnson was published in London in 1640. It is a collection of poetry of which one mentions 'paper Boates, With Sayles of silke'.

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1643

On 19th Januray 1643, Arthur Trevor, who was an aide at various times to The Marquess of Ormonde and Prince Rupert during the English Civil War, wrote a letter to the Marquess of Ormonde which makes reference to a paper-boate.

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1664

'Dictionarium Gallico-Germanico-Latinum, by Nathanaël Duëz, which 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.'

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1666

'La Vie admirable de la B. Jeanne de Valois, Reine de France' by Paulin Du Gast, which was published in Bourges in 1666. It contains mention of 'the game or the work of children when they make wooden weapons or paper boats'.

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1667

'Les Visionnaires, Ou lettres sur L'Heresie Imaginaire' by Pierre Nicole, which was published in Liege in 1667, contains a passage which reads: 'They made a paper boat and their intention was to put Escobar in it to send him to drown in the middle of the canal which flows through their garden' ... 'They' being 'little girls' and 'Escobar' being a caricature of a man of that name.

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1670

'Comedias escogidas de los mejores ingenios de Espana' by Agustin Moreto y Cabana, which was published in 1670, contains mention of a 'barco de papel'.

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1698

'Memoirs of the Life of the very Reverend Mr James Fraser of Brea' was published in Edinburgh in 1736. However it was published from a handwritten ms dated prior to 1698. It therefore seems necessary to attribute the mention of paper-boats it contains to the earlier date.

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The Takarabune - 1704 onwards

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1712

'The Spectator' No 482 of 12th September 1712 contains a passage which mentions a young gentleman 'making paper-boats with his sisters'.:

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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 other boats, ships, birds, and many other things, all of paper.)

Without better descriptions or illustrations, we cannot unfortunately know whether the 'boats, ships and birds' were designs of Guillermo Pen's own devising, or traditional paperfolds such as the Paper Boat or the Cocotte / Pajarita.

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1762

'Travels of the Jesuits into Various Parts of the World', by Mr Lockman, which was published in London in 1762, contains mention of an incident in Paris involving a paper boat.

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1776

Volume IV of 'The Natural History of Animals, Vegetables and Minerals' is an English translation, published in London, probably in 1776, of part of the 36 volume work 'Histoire naturelle, générale et particuliére' by George Louis Leclerc, Count de Buffon, contains reference to folding paper boats:

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1784

Reference to a paper boat being used to help demonstrate that a magnetised needle will default to point north / south appears in 'The Navigator's Assistant' by William Nicholson, which was published in London in 1784.

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1794

'The Age of Reason' by Thomes Paine, which was published in New York in 1794, contains a passage mentioning a paper boat.

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1799

An Essay on the Passions' by Kingsmill Davan was published in London in 1799. It contains mention of a paper boat.

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The Chinese Junk / Gondola - 1806 onwards

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1808

On Monday October 24th 1808 Jane Austen wrote a letter to her sister Cassandra which included two references to paper ships, of some undefined kind.

'We do not want amusement: bilbocatch, at which George is indefatigable; spillikins, paper ships, riddles, conundrums, and cards, with watching the flow and ebb of the river, and now and then a stroll out, keep us well employed;'

And

'While I write now, George is most industriously making and naming paper ships, at which he afterwards shoots with horse-chestnuts brought from Steventon on purpose;'

Unfortunately there isinsufficient detail to enable us to know which particular design of paper boat the author was referring to.

(Information provided by Dawn Tucker.)

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According to his friend and biographer Thomas Jefferson Hogg, the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822) had a passion for folding and sailing paper boats which he made from any paper available at hand including letters and the flyleaves of books. There is no direct evidence that these were Paper Boats rather than Chinese Junks but it seems likely that this was the case. Several pages of Volume 1 of Hogg's 'The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley' published in 1858, were devoted to describing this fascination, which seems to have almost amounted to an obsession.

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1820

In July 1820 Shelley wrote a poem 'Letter to Lady Gisborne' which includes the lines: 'And in this bowl of quicksilver - for I / Yield to the impulse of an infancy / Outlasting manhood - I have made to float / A rude idealism of a paper boat:'

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1825

In the 3rd Edition of his book 'Infant Education', published in1825, Samuel Wilderspin included the following anecdote which mentions folding,or rather not folding, a paper boat. Unfortunately this passage contains insufficient detail to enable us to know which particular paper boat the author intended, but was unable, to make.

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Cocotte in a Boat - 1827 onwards

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The Boat with Sail - 1832 onwards

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The Double Boat - 1832 onwards

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Another Double Boat - 1873 onwards

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The Ship - 1873 onwards

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1885

A design for a 'kofune' (small boat) 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)

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The Flat Bottomed Boat - 1892 onwards

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1892

These three designs appear in 'The Prang Primary Course in Art Education: Part 1: The First Primary Year' by Mary Dana Hicks and Josephine C Locke, which was published by the Prang Educational Company in Boston in 1892.

'Noah's Ark'

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Sailboat (one sail) and Sailboat (two sails) (Cut)

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The Keelboat - 1893 onwards

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The Double Boat with Sail - 1893 onwards

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The Blunt Ended Boat / Canoe - 1895 onwards

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Shelley's Boat - 1902

J M Barrie's novel 'The Little White Bird', was first published in Scribner's Magazine in America as a monthly serial from August to November November 1902, then as a complete novel by both Hodder & Stoughton in London and Scribner's in November of the same year. Chapter 15, titled 'The Thrush's Nest' includes mention of a paper boat made from a £5 note by a character called Shelley, who is a poet, and presumably intended to be recognised as Percy Bysshe Shelley who had a passion for folding paper boats.

In the story Shelley's boat is simply a device to put both a five pound note and an idea into Peter Pan's mind. A full copy of the book can be accessed here.

Much of this book, including chapter 15, was also included in J M Barrie's later novel 'Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens' which was published in 1906 and illustrated by Arthur Rackham. One of the illustrations shows Solomon and his assistants examining the £5 note. Unfortunately the creases visible on this note do not reveal what kind of paper boat it had been folded into.

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The Double Boat with Two Sails - 1904 onwards

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1908

A boat developed from the form of the Newspaper Hat.appears in 'Origami zusetsu' (Illustrated Origami) by Sano Shozo, was published in Tokyo in 1908.

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The Sailboat - 1910 onwards

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The Sampan - 1912 onwards

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1914

The Clothes Drying Ship

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This 'Sampan' 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).

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1917

A design called 'Boatside Eagle', which seems to be a representation of an eagle sitting on the side of a boat, appears in 'Xu Zhe zhi tu shuo' (More Illustrated Paperfolding) by Yongxiang Shi, which was published by the Commercial Press in Shanghai in 1917.

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La Peniche - 1924 onwards

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1935

'Origami Moyo, Book One', by Kawarazaki Kodo, which was published by Unsodo in Japan in 1935, contains a print showing an otherwise unknown paper boat with a sail.

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'Origami Moyo, Book Two' by Kawarazaki Kodo, which was also published in Japan in 1935, contains a print showing an untitled boat with sail. It is not possible to identify this boat with certainty from the print although it may be the Double Boat with Sail.

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1939

'Fun with Paper' by Joseph Leeming, which was published by Spencer Press Inc in Chicago in 1939, contains a design for 'A Sailboat'.

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1940

A design called 'Bote de Dos Velas' appears in '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.

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The Inside Out Boat - 1948 onwards

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The Yacht - 1951 onwards

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1956

'Paper Magic' by Robert Harbin, which was published by Oldbourne in London in 1956 contained diagrams for several paper boats.

Harbin's Boat with Mast.

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Harbin's Boat

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Harbin's 'Submarine'

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The Double-Decker Ship - 1957 onwards

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The Simple Sailboat - 1957 onwards

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1963

A boat developed from the Paper Dart appears in the second edition of 'Het Grote Vouwboek' by Aart van Breda, which was published by Uitgeverij van Breda in 1963.

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The same book contains a 'Sailboat' folded from a 4x1 strip of paper.

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1964

'Secrets of Origami', by Robert Harbin, which was published by Oldbourne Book Company in London in 1964, contains a design called the 'Inside-Out Boat' which is said to be Japanese and to have been collected by Lillian Oppenheimer.

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1970

The 1970 Rupert Manual contained instructions for making 'Rupert's Lightship'. The light is a waterbomb.

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