Chapeaugraphy, occasionally anglicised to chapography, is a novelty act and panhandling trick in which a ring-shaped piece of felt is manipulated to look like various types of hats. 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.
In the 1870s another French comedian, Monsieur Fusier, revived the act and managed 15 hat-twisting styles in his act.
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.
Some known chapeaugraphers are
Tabarin, a French comedian, the creator of Le Chapeau de Tabarin
Monsieur Fusier, another French comedian who revived the act,
Félicien Trewey, which gave the art form a re-new interest and a new name Treweyism around the world in the 19th century after seen Monsieur Fusier
Paul Wildbaum, a Canadian physical comedy master, and
Sir Richard, a New Zealand event host.
Fabrice, a French magician based on the Gold Coast in Australia, has an original routine which was presented at the Adelaide Magic Convention 2014.
Disguido, an Italian duo of Illusionists, have a routine dedicated to the history of cinema, prized with the Mandrake d'or in 2013 in Paris. They have created a lot of new types of figures:
the phone
the horse
the grinder
