Auctioneer still busy at 75

Press, 20 March 1982, Page 6

Auctioneer still busy at 75

Life has not always been a -bed of roses for the Christchurch auctioneer, Mr Dick Bell, but he keeps on ; smiling. ' Fifty years in the antique , furniture business and major ,- heart surgery have not ; dampened the enthusiasm of the. self-styled “auctioneer of lovely things” who celebrated his seventy-fifth birth- . day, yesterday. Lancashire-born Mr Bell still values, auctions, and ■ runs his Gloucester Street gallery, with help from his,,, family, and even finds time to take night classes ih an--j •tiques. “To take a class of 35 ; people at rhy age it's not too bad," he sad. His wife Ethel has been urging him for years to retire but he stays. ’ mainly because he likes the people. Over the years he has.had some funny customers, like, the woman who interrupted > '

when he was selling a rosewood table and said it was prone to borer. “I could have crowned her.” • .

When Mr Bell tried to say she was mistaken, the woman replied that she should know what she was talking about, because her sister made antiques. There was also the gentleman who fancied himself as a picture restorer and took home a painting that he thought was quite valuable. Unfortunately, he mixed the wrong solvent and cleaned the paint off the panelling. Looking back, Mr Bell can remember when times were a lot harder. He emigrated to New Zealand -with his widowed mother and his sisters in 1924. After finishing his cabinet-maker's apprenticeship he found himself in Timaru during the depression with a wife,’ young baby, and no job. Digging and refilling holes on relief work did not'appeal so he worked in wool sheds, goods yards, shovelling coal

on a coal boat, building a house, and serving behind a shop counter. The family moved to Christchurch in. 1931 where Mr Bell started making furniture in his bedroom. “I got more and more orders and never looked back." The business expanded into one of the biggest furniture manufacturers in the city but when he was discharged from the Army in 1943. timber and machinery shortages forced him into the retail business. Nowadays he still sees'some of . his handcrafted furniture changing hands in auction rooms. “It sells for a lot more than it was worth in those days.” he said. There are still times when he would like to turn the clock back. "I am making my ’living now by valuing broken homes," he said. ‘.’There is no modesty now."

But then, Mr Bell- is the type of man who would ■ never dream of letting his wife walk on the road side of the pavement. He always walks on the outside- to protect her. His secret of good collecting was to guess ahead and start buying something before it became fashionable, such as commemorative china or paper weights. Another tip for antique-hunters was to shop alone and buy something because you liked it. Born in 1907 at the height of. Art Noveau fashion, Mr Bell collects anything dated from his year of birth, including "Boy s Own" annuals, Christchurch exhibition souvenirs. and wax matches. He also occasionally indulges in pieces for his own collection of vinaigrettes and Victorian glass hat ornaments.