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A few years ago I was looking for extra miniatures for gaming and came across lots of miniatures from old 19th century paper theatres. These were very cool, though the theatres all looked a bit too 19th century to fit with the 16th-century game I was running. Of course they didn't have paper theatrers in the 16th century, even though they could have, given the state of printing technology.
Being a typography and printers ornament fan, however, I had collections of appropriate ornaments, so using a 20th century diagram of how to make a 19th century accordion pleated variant, I was actually able to design anachronistic paper theatres that could date back to even late 15th century, based on a book from Paris from 1498. I also made the pattern of the stage in squares so it could double as a grid map for rpg miniatures.
Roll forward to the present where I got the Gamemastery theater map which had everything I'd need for a theater battle for my players except for the sad lack of the proscenium arch or the ability to drop down scenery. So I decided to dust off my old paper theatres and reconstruct one of them, as the originals were packed away and it's easier to remake them than find them.
I then realized that other gamers might enjoy these, especially if they have the theater map or are going to be doing the "Six-Fold Trial" or any of the other theatrical adventures from Pathfinder.
Here they are, free to download, and fairly easy to construct. Added bonus: This design packs up flat when not in use, and can have scenery printed out on regular copy paper. I used pictures by Albrecht Durer.
Alphyn Press Penny Plain Theatre #1
Alphyn Press Penny Plain Theatre #2
Other added bonus is that all the character illustrations from the Pathfinder webfiction make excellent paper theatre miniatures as well and already come colored.
This is awesome, btw. Thanks much -- I have one character in my party who has several ranks in various perform skills, and since we are running Burnt Offerings at the moment, that means that I would probably have to deal with the Sandpoint Theatre at some point. Now I can!