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Created 25/9/2021.Last updated 30/9/2026.

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c1812

In his book 'Jugenderinnerungen eines altes Mannes' (Childhood Memories of an Old Man) which was published by Wilhelm Herz Verlag Berlin in 1870, Wilhelm von Kügelgen (1802-1867) describes how, in about 1812, when his family were living in Dresden, in Saxony, his then tutor, the painter Carl Adolf Senff (1785-1863), taught him, together with his siblings Gerhard and Adelheid, and the Leipzig friends Alfred and Julius Volksmann, to fold Krahen (crows). It is clear from the description that these were Cocotte / Pajaritas. The children learned to add further folds to develop these crows into cavalry and infantry (horses and riders), some of which still survive in museums in Germany. The invention of the horses and riders is attributed to Senff himself.

According to the book 'Folding Beauty' by Joan Sallas: 'In all, 33 of the actual models ... dating back to between 1810 and 1812, are preserved in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (German National Museum) in Nuremberg, including 16 foot soldiers, 8 riders and 9 horses from different regiments of the Royal Saxon Army.'

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1845

There are also six figures (twelve if you count horses and riders separately) in the Museum fur Sachsische Volkskunst (Saxony Folk Art Museum) in Dresden, which were probably made in about 1845. According to Joan Sallas: 'It seems likely that these were made by Wilhelm von Kügelgen for his own children, in which case the large letter “B” that appears with a crown on the saddle cloth of one of the horses may well be the initial of his son Benno.'

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1927

As far as I know diagrams for these designs, here described as 'Bedouins', first appear in 'Lustiges Papierfaltbüchlein' by Johanna Huber, which was published by Otto Maier in Ravensburg, Germany, probably in 1927.

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1930

A horse (but no rider) appears as 'Pferd' (Horse) in 'Papierfalten: Neubearbeitete Ausgabe nach dem Frobel'schen System', which was published by Otto Maier in Ravensburg c1930.

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1936

Diagrams for making both the Horse and Rider designs appeared in 'Faltarbeiten aus Papier 2' (Paperfolding Work) by Georg Netzband, which was published by W Kohlhammer Verlag in Stuttgart and Berlin in 1936. The folding and assembly process was also shown in the accompanying film F38.

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'Ross und Reiter' also appear in 'Allerlei Papierarbeiten' by Hilde Wulff and Carola Babick, which was published in Leipzig and Berlin in 1936. The text says, roughly, 'The rider on his horse is an old folding form whose origins Rugelgen describes so humurously in his 'Youthful Memories of an Old Man'. A footnote reads, 'Original model in the Germanischen Museum in Nuremberg.'

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1938

The designs are pictured in 'Spielzeug - Eine bunte Fibel' by Hans-Friedrich Geist and Alfred Mahlau, which was published by L Staadman Verlag in Leipzig in 1938. Illustration only.

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1946

An illustration of a Horse and Rider appeared in 'A Book of Toys' by Gwen White, which was published by Penguin in 1946, although the date assigned is 18th rather than 19th century. The Introduction also implies that the figure the illustration was drawn from was in the 'London Museums', although this may also, of course, be an error.

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1963

Pages 26 and 27 of the book 'Papier und Form' by Kurt Londenberg, which was published by Scherpe Verlag in Krefeld in 1963, contain photographs of 14 infantrymen and 7 horses and riders, presumably some of those from the collection of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, although this is not specifically stated.

The caption says they are from about 1810 and 'Presumably of Saxon origin'.

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