SOLD Original Cabinet Card - CC036 The De Smet Hare Affair

In the spring of 1899, young Clara Clements was chosen as “Easter Princess” for the De Smet, South Dakota pageant. It was a prestigious role—until the town’s beloved mascot, “Hoppy,” began behaving… strangely. Witnesses reported Hoppy whispering in an unknown language, tapping cryptic messages into the floorboards, and staring unblinking at the moon for hours.

Clara, bound by her duties, posed for this official portrait with the increasingly unsettling hare. Shortly after, the entire Clements family relocated to Manchester, England, citing “an unexpected oceanic opportunity” (though townsfolk noted they left in the dead of night). The rabbit was never seen again, but residents still report paw prints too large for any known breed, circling the old Clements home on Easter morning.

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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.

This Cabinet Card is sold. High quality prints of this original can be purchased HERE.