To make a background image display correctly, use the STYLE attribute to include your table background image
<TABLE BORDER="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="50%" STYLE="background-image: url('your_image.gif'); border: 2 ridge #800000">
The results:
Be sure to define the HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes for the table
OR
Nested tables work. Include BACKGROUND=" " in the inner <TABLE> tag: table align="center">
<TABLE BORDER="0" BACKGROUND="yourPic.jpg"> <TR> <TD> <TABLE BORDER="0" BACKGROUND=""> <TR> <TD> </TD> <TD> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> </TD> <TD> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> </TD> <TD> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </TD> </TR> </TABLE>