Top hat ribs and springs. His patent was described as: Some sources have taken this to describe an early folding top hat, although it is not explicitly stated whether Dollman's design was specifically for male or female headgear. Dollman's patent expired in 1825. In France, around 1840, Antoine Gibus's design for a spring-loaded collapsible top-hat proved so popular that hats made to it became known as "gibus". They were also often called "opera hats" due to the common practice of storing them in their flattened state under one's seat at the opera, though the term can also refer to any tall formal
Top hat as the stovepipe was popularized in the United States by Abraham Lincoln during his presidency; though it is postulated that he may never have called it stovetop himself, but merely a silk hat or a plug hat. It is said that Lincoln would keep important letters inside the hat. One of Lincoln's top hats is kept on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. During the 19th century, the top hat developed from a fashion into a symbol of urban respectability, and this was assured when Prince Albert started wearing them in 1850; the rise in