A folded napkin is the cheapest piece of theatre a table can offer. Table Napkin Folding shows exactly how it is done — the Water Lily, the Bishop’s Mitre, the Fleur de Lys, the Elf’s Shoe — each drawn out step by step, and each achievable in linen or in a good paper napkin. Josephine Ive began demonstrating napkin folding long before she founded Magnums Academy, and Table Napkin Folding grew directly out of those demonstrations. First published in 1983 and revised for this edition, it remains a working handbook rather than a coffee-table book. Eighteen folds are set out in full, each with its own page of line diagrams lettered a, b, c through to the finished shape, so you can see precisely where a corner goes and how the form is drawn up at the end. Interleaved photographs show the folds in place — on a plate, standing in a glass, on a Christmas setting — so you can judge which suits an occasion before you begin. The book opens with a short history of the art and reproduces two pages from the Harrods 1895 catalogue by kind permission of Harrods Ltd, listing damask cloths and napkins at prices that will make any reader wince. Josephine’s preface is characteristically practical about which folds actually work in service: the Water Lily is charming but better holding rolls than at a place setting, the Bishop’s Mitre is the obvious choice when the vicar comes to dinner, and the Cockscomb doubles as a sailboat. Written for butlers, restaurant and banqueting teams, hospitality students and function staff — and for anyone who entertains at home and would like the table to look as though some thought went into it. Most of the folds work equally well in linen or in paper. • Water Lily — Orchid — Arum Lily

• Buffet — folds to hold the cutlery

• Victoria — Roxburgh — Winchester Crown

• Double Swan — Cock’s Comb (the Sailboat)

• Fleur de Lys — Pleated Fleur de Lys

• Elf’s Shoe — Fan — Festival

• Bishop’s Mitre — Sail — Flute — Candle

• Plus the Christmas Fold and photographed settings for the Victoria, Cockscomb, Fan and Fan Variation

• And two pages from the Harrods 1895 catalogue