David Mitchell's Origami Heaven - History

The Public Paperfolding History Project Main Index Page Last updated 4/12/2024 x
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. It is worth noting that in French literature the phrase 'oiseau de papier' often means a kite. There are separate pages for: Eagles Ducks, Swans and Geese Hens, Chickens, Chicks and Roosters Peacocks and Peahens Penguins. ******** The Paper Crane or Orizuru - 1603 onwards ****** 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.' ****** 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.) His letter can be found in 'Entretenimiento de Los Ninos' by Monsieur Rochon, published in Madrid in both Spanish and French in 1779. 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. ****** 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. This suggests that these paper birds were probably Cocottes but without an illustration, or a more detailed description, we cannot be certain that they were. ****** 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 paper hats and birds of paper'. Lacking a picture, we cannot be certain which type of 'pajaras de papel' (paper birds) or which type of 'monteras' (paper hats) are being referred to here. ****** The Cocotte / Pajarita - 1801 onwards ****** 1845 A design for a standing crane made from the irregular slit octagon base appears in the 'Kan No Mado', which is usually dated to 1845. ****** 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. ****** 1889** 'La Nature' of 28th September 1889 contained an article headed 'Recreation Scientifiques' and subheaded 'La Grenouille Japonaise en Papier' (The Japanese Paper Frog) which mentions the Paris Exposition of 1889 and states (here in translation) 'We also noticed in the exhibition other designs among which were the crab from red paper, the junk and the hat of Daimios (demon), the parrot etc.,' Unfortunately, lacking an illustration, there is no way of knowing which design of parrot is being referred to here. ******** 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 Cut Heron - 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 ****** 1931 The revised 3rd edition of 'Lustiges Papierfaltbüchlein' by Johanna Huber, which was published by Otto Maier in Ravensburg, Germany in 1931contains a photograph showing birds and a butterfly made using pleated elements to represent wings. The text of the 1931 edition did not mention either the photograph or the designs. However, mention of them was added in the 5th edition which says 'Beautiful fairy-tale birds and butterflies can also be made from the accordion folds' and goes on to describe how the designs are made. ****** 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. ****** The Cut Canary - 1944 onwards ****** The Cut Owl - 1944 onwards ****** 1944 'Origami Shuko' by Isao Honda, which was published in 1944 contains diagrams for several birds: The Cut Nightingale (see picture 23 below). * This design also appears as 'A Nightingale' in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. * This design also appears as 'Japanese Nightingale' in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. ****** Tachizuru (Standing Crane). * This design also appears as 'A Standing Crane' in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. * The same design appears in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960.. The Independent Creativity chapter shows how the pose of this design can be varied. ****** Two Bird-Base Pheasant variations. * The second of these also appears as 'A Pheasant' in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. * The samne design also appears in 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Japan Publications Trading Company in the USA in 1965. ****** 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) ******** The Cut Robin - 1951 onwards ****** 1951 'Origami: Folding Paper for Children' by Claude Sarasas, which was published by Kodansha in Tokyo in 1951, contains diagrams for a 'Flamingo', a 'Gull', and a 'Bird in a Nest' (cut). ****** ****** ****** 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) ****** 1959 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. ****** 'Pocket Guide to Origami: Bow-Wow Book', by Isao Honda, which was published by the Asahi Origami Club, Tokyo in 1959 contains diagrams for: 'A Heron' (Cut) * This design also appears as 'A Flying Heron' in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. The legs are separated using a cut. The instructions also show how to use a cut to create a crest, although this crest is not shown in the final drawing. * The same design appears as 'White Heron' in 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Japan Publications Trading Company in the USA in 1965. A cut is used to create the crest at the back of the head and another to separate the legs. ****** 'A Pigeon' This design also appears as 'A Pigeon' in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. ****** 1960 Several designs for birds appear in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. A Flying Crane (Cut) The legs are separated using a cut * The same design appears in 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Japan Publications Trading Company in the USA in 1965. ******** A Turkey * A similar design appears as 'Turkey' in 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Japan Publications Trading Company in the USA in 1965. ******** A Cochin Cochin is a breed of chicken. ****** A Sea Gull From a right angle isosceles triangle. * This design also appears in 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Japan Publications Trading Company in the USA in 1965. ******** Robert Harbin published a design for a Flying Bird in 'The Observer' of 20th March 1960. ****** 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 ******** 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. Bird * Bird * Bird's Nest * Hen on its Nest * Pelican ****** 1959 The 1959 Rupert Annual contains instructions for folding this 'Paper Bird'. ****** 1960 Several designs for birds appears in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. 'A Mandarine Duck' * 'An Ostrich' * 'A Sea Gull) From a right angle isosceles triangle. * 'A Parrot' made from a 60/120 degree rhombus. ******** 1965 A design for a 'Sparrow' in which cuts are used to release paper for the wings appears in in 'All About Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Toto Bunka Company, Limited in Tokyo in 1960. * The same book contains a design for a cut 'Dove' in which cuts are used to separate the tail from the wings. * The same book contains a design for a cut 'Swallow' from an equilateral triangle in which cuts are used to separate the two halves of the tail. ****** The same book contains a design for a 'A Parrot' folded from a 60/120 degree rhombus. * A similar design appears as 'Macaw' in 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Japan Publications Trading Company in the USA in 1965. In this case a cut is used to create the crest. ******** 1970 The 1970 Rupert Annual contains instructions for making a 'Mystery Bird' which can be posed to look like a kiwi, a vulture or a bittern. ****** 1971 The 1971 Rupert Annual contains instructions for folding a 'Swimming Bird' developed from the Pajarita. ****** 1976 The 1976 Rupert Annual contains instructions for making a 'Humming Bird'. ****** 1978 The 1978 Rupert Annual contains instructions for folding 'Rupert's Seagull', a design by John Smith. The instructions say that this is a flapping bird. ********