Origami Heaven

A paperfolding paradise

The website of writer and paperfolding designer David Mitchell

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The Pipe Cap / Bishop's Mitre / Traditional Ingot
 
This page attempts to record what is known about the origin and history of the origami design known as the Pipe Cap / Bishop's Mitre napkin fold / Traditional Ingot. 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.

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Diagrams for this design, called the Mitre and folded from a napkin, first appear in 'The practical housewife, forming a complete Encyclopedia of domestic economy" by R. K. Philp which was published in London by Ward & Lock in 1855. My thanks to Joan Sallas for this reference.

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The same design, this time folded from a 1:3 sheet of paper, appears in ''De Kleine Papierwerkers', which was written by Elise Van Calcar and published by K H Schadd in Amsterdam in 1863.

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In 1997 the Hong Kong Origami Society published diagrams drawn by Janson Chow which presented what was essentially the same design as a Yuan Bao or folded paper version of a traditional gold ingot.

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When folded from a napkin, the modern version of this design is usually called the Bishop's Mitre.