Treasure Trove

NZ Truth, Issue 1178, 28 June 1928, Page 6

Treasure Trove

"THE pettifogging critics who have re- •■■ centiy clambered into the limelight to castigate the Auckland public on its alleged lack of artistic taste will find a worthy opponent m William Alexander. . . And If they wish to bump their refined head-pieces against a formidable rebuttal, let them foregather m the vicinity of Wellesley-Queen Street corner, allowing their grandiloquent aspersions to drift through the dporway of "Bill's" art and antique emporium. : . They'll know the place by the number Of passers-by whose attention is arrested by • the galaxy of art and antiquity treasures which are a feature of the city's window displays. | There was ever something -of the "treasure" hunter about; Alexander; right back to, the time he was at) Canterbury College he fostered a<weakness for moth-eaten pictures and antiquated nick-nacks. Even when employed with the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile, "Bill" was unable to tear himself away from periodical peregrinations m pursuance of what was then a hobby. j T,he dingier the shop, the more dust i upon the bookshelves, the happier beat \ the. heart of this antiquarian. Until, at last, W-A- was able. to weld hobby ;tq •commerce and bought out the Auckland business which now bears his name. I