The Public Paperfolding History Project

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Fold and Cut Stove and Chair Covers
 
This page attempts to record what is known about the origin and history of fold and cut stove and chair covers. 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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1833

A design of this kind appears in 'The Girl's Own Book' by Lydia Marie Child, which was published by Clark Austin and Co in New York in 1833. It contains the interesting information that 'In England, where they burn coal more than they do here, they fasten sheets of paper together and cut them in this way, to throw over the front of stoves during the summer season.'

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1840

A way of making a stove cover by first folding a sheet of tissue into a many-layered square then cutting apattern through the layers appears in 'The School Boy's Holiday Companion' by T Kentish, which was published by Relfe and Fletcher in London in 1840.

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1940

A related design appears in 'At Home Tonight' by Herbert McKay, which was published by Oxford University Press in London, New York and Toronto in 1940. It contains diagrams for 'An Ornamental Cover', intended as a cover to put over the back of a chair.

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