Opera hat which means hat, and "claque", which means "tap" or "click". The "chapeau claque" is thus a hat that folds with a click, and unfolds likewise. In English the hat model is usually referred to as a "collapsible top-hat", "gibus" or more often "opera hat"- The construction may originally have been inspired by an historical hat model called "chapeau bras" ("arm hat"), made as bicorne or tricorne to be carried folded under the arm On May 5, 1812, a London hatter called Thomas Francis Dollman patented a design for "an elastic round hat" supported by ribs and springs. His patent was
Death from a Top Hat Merlini with "The Great Morgan" (Mike), played by Young. Death from a Top Hat Death from a Top Hat (1938) is a locked-room mystery novel written by Clayton Rawson. It is the first of four mysteries featuring The Great Merlini, a stage magician and Rawson's favorite protagonist. In a poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, this novel was voted as the seventh best locked room mystery of all time. "As the story opens, free-lance writer Ross Harte is writing a magazine article on the modern detective story, and most of this article-to-be is included in the first chapter."