Life issue of JFK not difficult to find
Q I’m a 13-year-old boy and I really love to collect antiques and collectibles. I’m wondering about all the John Kennedy things I’ve focused on, including this 1965 Life magazine with Kennedy on the cover. Please respond back with a price on how much it’s worth. Thank you. Zach, Windsor
A I’m thrilled to hear of a 13-yearold boy interested in antiques and collectibles!
This cover photograph of the July 16, 1965 issue of Life magazine features what it claims to be a previously unpublished photo of President John F. Kennedy, taken in 1959. The article it illustrates was the first of a series of excerpts from Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.’s book A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House, which covered Kennedy’s 1961-63 presidency.
Filling out a complete set of magazines is a common goal for many magazine collectors, as is having an issue with a graphically interesting cover. Condition and rarity are ultimately the two most important factors. Your magazine looks to be in very good condition, but it can also be found without too much difficulty from many Internet sources.
I’d say it’s worth about $20.
Vaporizers started in late 1800s
Q This vaporizer is one of a few items I found years ago stuffed into an old milk churn of my grandmother’s. It’s about 16 centimetres (6.25 inches) high. I’ve always wanted to find out a bit more about it and hope you might be able to tell me something. Thanks.
Bill, Ottawa
A What you’ve got is an early model of what today we would call a vaporizer. These little lamps were made and marketed heavily by the Vapo Cresolene Lamp Company throughout Britain, Canada and the U.S. from the late 1800s through the 1920s. The lamps were advertised as the cure-all for many respiratory ailments and related conditions. Heat from the lamp evaporated the liquid above the chimney, filling the air with “wondrous” healing fumes.
These lamps are viewed as novelty items on today’s collectible circuit, and, while finding a complete example with box and instructions is not common, neither is it exactly rare.
Although collectors were paying up to $125 for your lamp a few years ago, now you might expect to sell it for about $50.
Plaque honours 1945 food drop
Q I found this Delft commemorative tile plaque at a garage sale more than 30 years ago. I’ve found a few websites that picture the plaque but can’t get any information on value.
Our plaque is in perfect condition, and measures about 20 by 14 cm (eight x 5.5 inches). I’m hoping to hear from you with any news about this piece. Thanks so much. Carol, British Co
lumbia
A Your commemorative plaque will be instantly recognizable to anyone of Dutch heritage who lived through the terrible Hongerwinter of 1944, near the end of the Second World War.
It commemorates the Allied food drops in April-May 1945, which brought much-needed food to the still-unliberated western part of the Netherlands.
Operation Manna ( by the British Royal Air Force) and Operation Chowhound (by the U.S. air force) dropped thousands of tons of food behind what were still enemy lines, effectively saving thousands from starvation, and heralding the end of hostilities.
Your plaque was made by the Royal Delft factory in Amsterdam — the last of the Delft potteries, originally founded in the 17th century. The title “Voedsel Vrede Vrijheid” translates to “Food Peace Freedom,” and the scene depicts a mother and child waving the Dutch flag in thanks to the approaching bombers.
Tiles of many kinds have been avidly collected for years, and this one will be worth about $90.