THE KING'S ENGRAVINGS AND FURNITURE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 129, 1 June 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE KING'S ENGRAVINGS AND FURNITURE.

A tale used to be told of the King some years ago, which if non vero is at least ben trovato. He was on a house boat at some aquatic carnival and on a neighbouring boat was an

old lady who bore a strong- jesemblance to Queen Victoria, His attention was directed to her, and just as he looked in her direction she was handing some one a shawl. "Why," he is reported to have said, "that must be the Queen herself, for she is making a present of one of her Indian shawls." Queen Victoria received, so many thousands of these sliawls from the Princes of her Indian Empire as tribute, that she was glad to get rid of them by giving them away as wedding presents and other gifts.

The King's gifts are likely to take another, and to the donees more acceptable, form. Both Queen Victoria and Kifig Edward, when Prince of Wales, besides making liberal purchases of "black and white," accepted copies of most of the best etchings and engravings published during the last quarter of a century. The King therefore, on succeeding to his mother's unique collection, finds himself in possession of thousands of duplicate copies of published works of art. He is therefore putting aside a 'large collection of drawings, etchings, and engravings to be distributed to his liege subjects as personal gifts.

The King, it is understood, is making large changes in the furniture of the chief rooms in Buckingham Palaoe and Windsor Castle. In these matters he relies not solely on his own good taste, but pays much attention to the advice of Mr Guy Laking, the son of Sir Francis Laking,

one at the surgeons in attendance on the Royal family. Mr Laking a fe^w years ago developed a taste for curiosities, and for some time he has been an attendant at the chief sales or! such articles in Covent Garden and the West End. He has written a good deal on the various periods and fashions in ornamental furniture and old china, and some of his work came under the notice of the King. Some of the articles at each Koyal palace are, in the expert's opinion, of great value. He has put the high value of £25,000, on a cabinet for which years ago Queen Victoria paid only £750. The value of the Royal art treasures cannot be less than a couple of reunions at the least.