Ty Cobb at 17?

[bcbgcbrcb]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Base...item1e688e7ce2

Don't think so, there is some resemblence but face looks too round and individual appears to be older than 17.........

[Big Ben]

Love the drawing of the arrow that points toward Ty. . Is it me, or is there a nice smudge between the y and the C with the inscription on the bottom?

[christopher.herman]

That sure does look like him. I vote yes but the sellers description is what actually makes me nervous. Provenance is key here and the lack of info about the photo is troubling.
Why would the seller be holding back info in an auction setting?

[aquarius31]

Originally Posted by christopher.herman

Provenance is key here and the lack of info about the photo is troubling. Why would the seller be holding back info in an auction setting?

Agreed...why would the seller say "The name of the man in the photo and the name of his business will be given to the buyer"??? I'm also quite relieved that there's an arrow to point out that the Cobb (there's definitely a resemblance although it does not necessarily mean it is him) is on the right

[iggyman]

It does look like him and as Bill James has pointed-out, Cobb is often pictured hiding one or both hands.

Lovely Day...

[christopher.herman]

Originally Posted by aquarius31

Agreed...why would the seller say "The name of the man in the photo and the name of his business will be given to the buyer"??? I'm also quite relieved that there's an arrow to point out that the Cobb (there's definitely a resemblance although it does not necessarily mean it is him) is on the right

On second thought, stolen, perhaps?

[ScottR81]

I say its Cobb, but 17? he looks a older, but hey I was 6'1" in 8th grade so....

[Cardboard Junkie]

Hi I knew Cobb's grand daughter. She worked (works?) in a hospital near Detroit. After a few years of talking with her on and off, I asked if he left her any baseballcards. She said no but he had left her some coca cola stock. I have seen some prints of personal family pictures and my money says it is probably Cobb. I aint payin 9 bills for it though.,,, Aloha, Dave.

[calvindog]

It's not Ty Cobb but the guy on the left is definitely Chris Christie.

[hunterdutchess]

I am one to think B.S. first on items like this but after looking at it for awhile I have to say that I think that it is him.

[bbcard1]

My son is 17 and looks everybit that old.

[fkw]

to me it looks like him but the face is a bit fat, but if he looked down slightly it might not be so fat

The thing that makes me lean to its HIM, it the seller is in Augusta...

If the seller was in Chicago or Portland etc, it would be a different story.

The not disclosing info to bidders is a deal breaker though IMO
If the guy on the left was associated with Cobb in some way (HS buddy?) thats a big deal and would go a long way in proving its Cobb.

BTW the pen looks to be a fountain pen, and I think maybe they started to write "Tyrus" and then changed it IMO

[calvindog]

I agree completely with what Frank just said. I think it looks like him but the failure to disclose the info makes no sense and raises too big a red flag to be bothered. It's a nice item but hardly so rare so as to require a leap of faith like that.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by calvindog

I agree completely with what Frank just said. I think it looks like him but the failure to disclose the info makes no sense and raises too big a red flag to be bothered. It's a nice item but hardly so rare so as to require a leap of faith like that.

The old Hal Lewis approach, eh?

[bcbgcbrcb]

Great idea asking for a scan of the back to help date it. If you look very closely, the stamp box on this one does not match any of the examples provided on that website. However, the undivided-back makes it a March, 1907 or earlier postcard.

[Jaybird]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Great idea asking for a scan of the back to help date it. If you look very closely, the stamp box on this one does not match any of the examples provided on that website. However, the undivided-back makes it a March, 1907 or earlier postcard.

While I agree with you for the most part, I've seen the undivided back on later postcards. I know that the USPS allowed the divided back in March 1907 but some postcards were printed after that date with an undivided back. People would sometimes draw their own line to separate the address from the correspondence, etc. after this date.

This is just a technicality and not meant to correct you but to leave open the possibility that this could be a later postcard, though I don't think it is in this case because of the "This Side for Address" line.

Of course, the reverse is true - that you wouldn't see a divided back before March 1907. So, for me, I use it as a guide and not a fast rule when I see an undivided back.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Well, just did lots of reasearch and have determined that the gold watch presented to Cobb during his last minor league game for Augusta in 1905 was funded by a collection taken up by the team's fans and was presented to him that day by the Mayor of Augusta. Now all we need is a historical photo of the Mayor of Augusta from 1905 and match it up to this postcard. I'm not sure the 1904 date rather than 1905 can ever be proven unless the individual in the photo was not the mayor of Augusta in 1905 and passed away prior to 1905, thus eliminating that as a possibility.

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Well, just did lots of reasearch and have determined that the gold watch presented to Cobb during his last minor league game for Augusta in 1905 was funded by a collection taken up by the team's fans and was presented to him that day by the Mayor of Augusta. Now all we need is a historical photo of the Mayor of Augusta from 1905 and match it up to this postcard. I'm not sure the 1904 date rather than 1905 can ever be proven unless the individual in the photo was not the mayor of Augusta in 1905 and passed away prior to 1905, thus eliminating that as a possibility.

Terrific research Phil! I would think that the Augusta City Hall/Records might be the best bet. But if it's citizens are half as stuffy as the Augusta National Members and following, it may be a tall order at that.

[bcbgcbrcb]

I got the Mayor's name, it's Richard E. Allen (1904-07) and I found an online article detailing him:

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/georgiabo...fs/gb0030d.pdf

[bmarlowe1]

Given that the scan is not very sharp, I can see no feature mismatch with respect to Cobb.

[Clutch-Hitter]

Eyes, hair, lips, ears, and nose all look the same. His face is more rounded, but a man's appearance can change within a one year period. He's certainly not fat in the auction photo, but he's also not skinny like in the comparison photo.

Edited to say: Especially during the off-season. The Babe typically packed on a few too.

[Abravefan11]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Now all we need is a historical photo of the Mayor of Augusta from 1905 and match it up to this postcard.

This is a photo of the mayor just after he was elected in July 1903.

[Abravefan11]

A little more digging and it turns out the watch was presented to Cobb by John R. Burke.

[bcbgcbrcb]

One thing seems certain, the watch was not "donated" by this individual but instead by the team's fans, maybe "presented" by this individual but that's not what the seller's description states.

Now, we have to determine who John Burke was.............

[bmarlowe1]

A couple of people made the point that the face looks more rounded than other young photos of Cobb. I agree, it does. The reason is that this is a photo taken of the postcard from an angle well below the subject - the camera was clearly not parallel to the plane of the postcard. This causes significant spatial distortion. In this case the vertical dimension of the face appears shortened while the horizontal dimension remains relatively accurate. That makes his face appear more round.