The gibus is a variety of collapsible top hat invented around 1840 in France by Antoine Gibus, as an adaptation on the earlier folding top hat of London haberdasher Thomas Francis Dollman, whose patent on the design expired in 1825.
The gibus contains springs, folding ribs, or collapsible metal stays (such as those in a corset), enabling it to crush down into a flat configuration for storage, and then to spring back into its proper shape again later.
The gibus is also called the opera hat, due to the practice of storing it under one's seat while attending an opera. Its distinctive clapping noise, upon opening, also resulted in it being called chapeau claque, "slapping hat," in France.
Iron Noder 2017, 18/30