COSTLY BILLIARD-TABLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7329, 15 February 1902, Page 2

COSTLY BILLIARD-TABLES.

(English Papar.) Even the commonplace blEiardi-table, to be found in every modern club-house and hotel . is by no means an inexpensive item, costing, I as a rule, a sum that represents more than the average city clerk's annual income. But when the price of a bilford-taMe runs to : the extraordinary .figure of £3000 it is | enough to make any lover of fene board of green cloth marvel at the extravagance. Yet such a table hasbeen actually builfc' by one of our leading firms' of billiard-table makers for a wealthy Indian, prince. The whole frame of the table is elaborately 1 j cai.ved and frescoed, the pockets are made of the richest silk, and, instead of "the j ordinary brass fittings, pure gold is employ- i cd. The cues are studded) at the butt-ends with pearls and rubies, and every little detail of the table aod its accessories has been finished in an equally sumptuous style. The most costly table in England is in the possession of a gentleman) whose name is intimately associated with a world-famous ; food for infants. It was built to his order i by Messrs Thurston and Co., the well-, known billia-rd-'ba'ble manufacturers, and cost, together with the usual accessories, over £1000. The frame of this tahJft is of oak and 1 is carved in j^ost.elab^raty fashion. The taible ds of ; Moresque 4^sig n > with panelled ends sunk on beautifully turned legs. The whole taible was erected under the most careful supervision, • and its design and material were chosen to harmonise with a handsome oak staircase leading to the billiard-room. There are many billiard-tables in : the stately homes of England to-day that have cost theb owners sums of £500 and upwards. The Hon F. Eothschild possesses one that cost £800 ; hut with his usual simplicity of taste, our King—who as Prince of Wales was an enthusiastic .ami skilful cueist — is the possessor of a table which cost the more modest i^ure .of J3SQO. The billiard-room •at Sandringh'am >: - which tihe writer once had, the pleasure of visiting, was furnished inT the most quiet and! unostentatious manner, though the King's sporting tastes were evidenced by the mature of the piotures adorning the walls. One of the most remarkable billiard-tables in the world is to be found in the billiardroom at Windsor Castle. It is truly a table with a history. This unique 1 table is built entirely of wood recovered from the ■ wreck of the Royal George, amd was -one of the most prized possessions of theJateQueen Victoria. The wood of which this table is "built is still well preserved, notcwithstanding dts ; long immersion '••■at' thebottom of the sea.