Original Cabinet Card - Rocket Man

Bartholomew Ignatius Von Boom was not born a rocket—he became one through sheer force of will and experimental headgear. A tinker, dreamer, and moderately banned inventor from Minneapolis, Bart believed deeply in three things: the power of upward momentum, rigorous mustache maintenance, and never saying no to a dare involving fireworks.

He famously declared, “If God wanted us to stay on Earth, he wouldn’t have given me this aerodynamic cranium.” Days later, he affixed stabilizing fins to his temples and began walking exclusively in a slow, deliberate northward tilt.

Though his prototype “Head-Fueled Gentleman’s Launch System” never quite achieved orbit, he was once spotted hovering two feet above a phonograph while humming a Sousa march. NASA, founded years later, cited him as “a cautionary inspiration.”

This portrait was taken to commemorate his third attempt at atmospheric breach, during which he reached the roof of the Minneapolis Opera House and declared, “I see everything, and also lunch.”

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.