{"id":1316,"date":"2025-03-21T04:03:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T04:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/?page_id=1316"},"modified":"2026-08-31T22:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T22:38:03","slug":"lot-67","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/?page_id=1316","title":{"rendered":"Lot 67"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lot 67<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Rare, fabulous advertising cdv for Gibus and Ferry who were a prominent 19th-century partnership of French hatters operating a highly successful business in London selling a patented collapsible opera hat. A Gibus is a collapsible silk opera hat invented in France and patented by Parisian hatter Antoine Gibus in 1834 and 1837 to solve the problem of crowded cloakrooms and lack of seat space in 19th-century auditoriums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spectacular cdv shows a handsome gentleman on the right smoothing the brim of a hat with appears to be one of his irons. His partner on the left holds the brim of a white hat that sits on the counter. An impressive display of various hats lines the large cabinet behind them and we notice multiple advertising signs for the original Gibus. Hat boxes with advertising are seen on the floor with two boxes containing mannequin heads wearing hats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the website, http:\/\/www.19thcenturyphotos.com\/Two-London-hatters-125893.htm<\/a> , \u201cOne of the men is Louis Ferry, who appears on the 1861 census, a ‘hat manufacturer employing 5 men, 4 boys and 2 females’ living at 16 Coventry Street. He was 37 years old and born at Gretz, Seine et Marne [south-east of Paris]. He committed suicide in 1870. According to a report in The Morning Post [Thursday 13 September 1870]: ‘Last evening Mr. Langham, the Westminster coroner, held an enquiry respecting the death of Louis Ferra [sic], hatter and photographer, of Coventry-street. From the evidence of the son and daughter it was shown that the deceased, who was a Frenchman, and of late had been greatly depressed, was found about midday on Saturday very ill, and said to his daughter “I have taken death.” Medical assistance was obtained, but life was already extinct, death ensuing a few minutes after having taken the poison, a bottle of which was close at hand, namely, cyanide of potassium. A note in French was found on the floor close by; its translation was \u2013 “It is not possible for me to stand on my legs, and I suffer so much that I prefer to end all quickly by death. I ask my family and my friends to forgive me, for I cannot longer live in the position in which I find myself.” The coroner asked the jury if they could overlook the felony of self-murder, under the view that it was committed while the deceased labored under the affliction of a deranged mind, and the jury replying in the affirmative, a verdict to that effect was recorded.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other man, the \u2018Gibus\u2019 of the partnership, also appears on the 1861 census, a lodger at 77 York Road in Lambeth. A 40-year-old hatter at the time of the 1861 census, he was born in Paris. Although he gave his name as \u2018Meriade Gibus\u2019, his real name was in fact Meriade Anquez. The Gibus brothers Antoine and Gabriel were famous Parisian hatters who had invented the collapsible opera hat \u2013 known as the Gibus or \u2018chapeau claque\u2019 in French to this day – and patented many variations of their original design between 1834 and 1870. Although both brothers had sons that followed them into the family business, the man in this portrait appears to have had no legitimate connection to the family and was presumably trading under their famous name without their consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 3 July 1853 Anquez (aka Gilbus) married Sarah Annie Smith, daughter of a builder, at St John the Evangelist in Waterloo. According to their marriage certificate, Anquez was a hatter living in Waterloo Road; his father, Martial Anquez, was a hairdresser. The couple separated in 1858 and in 1866 Mrs. Anquez petitioned for divorce, citing her husband\u2019s cruelty and adultery [though given the limited grounds on which divorce could then be granted, this may have been merely a formality to comply with the terms of the law]. Meriade Anquez died on 10 May 1893 at 19 Mornington Crescent, Camden. At the time of his death, he was still trading as a hatter under the name of Gibus with a shop at 10 Chandos Street, on the corner of St Martin\u2019s Lane. His effects were valued at \u00a3260. An advertisement was placed in the French press [Le Temps, 14 November 1893] but with no heirs coming forward his estate passed to one John Macqueen, a hat manufacturer to whom Anquez owed money at the time of his death. Photographer by Henry, (Henri), Daubray, 70 Regent Street, London. Born in Paris in 1817, Daubray had formerly operated from a studio at 27 Coventry Street, so must have been personally acquainted with the two hatters.\u201d This rare cdv is slightly light in tonal qualities as seen with some spotting on the bottom. It is one of the more unique occupational cdvs you will find so don\u2019t miss this one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening bid: $190<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Lot 67 Rare, fabulous advertising cdv for Gibus and Ferry who were a prominent 19th-century partnership of French hatters operating a highly successful business in London selling a patented collapsible opera hat. A Gibus is a collapsible silk opera hat invented in France and patented by Parisian hatter Antoine Gibus in 1834 and 1837 to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1316","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1316"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5867,"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1316\/revisions\/5867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolgallery.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}