Chapeaugraphy
Chapeaugraphy, occasionally anglicised to chapography, is a novelty act and a busking trick in which a ring-shaped piece of felt is manipulated to look like various types of hats. It would often be performed as a quick-change act.[1]
The act originated in 1618 with Parisian street performer Tabarin, the most famous of the charlatans who combined a French version of commedia dell'arte with a quack medicine show. He described his felt hat as "true raw material, indifferent to all forms".[1]
In the 1870s another French comedian, Monsieur Fusier, revived the act and managed 15 hat-twisting styles in his act. The act was first performed in England by the French magician Félicien Trewey,[2] who performed a tribute act titled "Tabarin, or Twenty-Five Heads under One Hat".[1] An 1899 magazine recounts "one or two smart English performers" of that time, including Alfred Leslie.[2]
Although rarely seen today, it was featured in an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1985, as performed by magician Harry Anderson.
Types of hat that can be created:
- baseball cap
- American and British army hats from the Revolutionary War
- pirate's hat
- naval captain's hat
- Mickey Mouse ears
- Ushanka (a Russian fur hat)
- mortarboard (a graduation cap)
- Catholic nun's headwear
- derby hat
and several inventive others.
Notable chapeaugraphers
- Tabarin, a French comedian, the creator of Le Chapeau de Tabarin.
- Monsieur Fusier, another French comedian who revived the act.
- Félicien Trewey, who brought the art form renewed interest and a new name, Treweyism, around the world in the 19th century after seeing Monsieur Fusier[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c Sobchack, Vivian Carol (2000). Meta Morphing: Visual Transformation and the Culture of Quick-change. U of Minnesota Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-8166-3319-7.
- ^ a b "One Man — One Hat". Penny Pictorial Magazine. 1899. Retrieved 6 February 2025.