Original Cabinet Card - CC028 Miss Bonkle

Miss Henrietta Wadsworth Bonkle had seen things. Not in the usual sense—no, Henrietta remembered things from before things had names. A quiet fixture of St. Louis society, she was known for her impeccable posture, penetrating gaze, and tendency to peel bananas one molecule at a time.

Rumors swirled that Henrietta was the result of an ill-advised scientific experiment involving opera tickets, lunar dust, and a haunted zoetrope. Others claimed she had simply “taken a wrong turn in time.” Regardless, her presence commanded a strange and reverent respect.

She never spoke in public, but her eyebrows conveyed full conversations. Her preferred hobbies included knitting with vines, reading aloud to ferns, and making direct eye contact with strangers until they apologized.

This portrait was taken after Henrietta received an honorary doctorate in Primordial Philosophy and politely declined a position on the city council, stating only, “Too many vowels.”

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Colin Batty is an artist from Manchester, UK. He has worked on countless cool projects including Tim Burton's, Mars Attacks, the Oscar nominated short, The Sandman, Eddie Murphy's, The PJ's and many, many more. Colin has contributed to Freakybuttrue for many years and graces this site with his amazing designs, incredible sculptures, comics and his world famous cabinet card paintings and so much more.

Each original cabinet card is a genuine one hundred year old (or more) photograph on which Colin directly paints. Photographs of this age are often creased, scratched, deteriorated, and otherwise worn. Colin often utilizes the character of the wear to find inspiration.

Each card is signed and dated by the artist.

High quality prints of this original can be purchased HERE.