It was in late 2012 that we first laid eyes on this postcard and were asked to research its subjects. It was purchased by its owner from an estate that was being sold on eBay originating from the family of one George Parquette a resident of Augusta Georgia. The photo in the postcard was purported to be Parquette along with Ty Cobb dating roughly to 1905. The seller explained that Parquette was a jeweler who was involved in presenting Cobb with a gold watch upon his being sold by the hometown Augusta Tourists to the Detroit Tigers in August of 1905. At the time we conducted a great deal of research and were unable to find much information about a George Parquette from Augusta. Just as we were beginning to give up however we made a discovery: Augusta Georgia was home to a jeweler named George Paquette who was actually a watchmaker and employee of the L.J. Schaul company of Augusta. That is when the massive amount of circumstantial evidence in support of the subjects of this real photo postcard being Paquette and Ty Cobb began to pile up. There are many accounts of Cobb's sale to the Tigers in August of 1905 just weeks after his father's murder. Cobb's price was $700 and he held out for some of the money finally agreeing to head to Detroit after he was paid $160 plus transportation costs. At the Tourists' final game of the season before his first at bat he was presented with a handsome gold watch a gift purchased from a local jeweler for $50 by Tourists fans who pooled their money. A lady friend also presented Cobb with a bouquet of flowers both handed to him as he waited on deck for his first at bat. After play resumed Cobb struck out. Paquette was a difficult gentleman to find at first largely because his name was so often misspelled ("Parquette" is found in places as is "Parquett"). Ultimately though we learned that George Irenee Paquette was born in 1874 in Quebec and came to the United States in 1896 ultimately settling at 1436 Heath Street in Augusta. Paquette quickly became immersed in the civic and business communities in Augusta rising in social standing and becoming one of the leaders in the area Masonic organization. In the 1920s Paquette left the watchmaking business behind opening a radio store but in later years signed a contract to maintain the clock in the clocktower in the center of Augusta. His Heath Street home stood just a mile away from Cobb's one-time home at 2425 Williams Street. As Paquette was connected to Schaul through his employment Schaul was connected to Cobb. While no news accounts we could find credit the 1905 gold watch to Schaul's jewelry business we do believe it is likely that's exactly where the watch was purchased as Schaul's company aggressively advertised its watches in the Augusta Chronicle