QABOUT 50 years ago I [...]; TREASURE HUNTERS.(Features)

Byline: JAMIE BREESE

QABOUT 50 years ago I bought an Exakta Varex IIb camera for about pounds 110 which is still in working order.

Have you any idea what it's worth now? - Mr M. Hayward, by email AYOUR camera is a metal-bodied little gem which shoots 35mm film and was manufactured from 1963 to 1965.

Its value will depend on whether the chrome, black paint and leather, are intact as well as the condition of the lens.

This is a lovely vintage camera and if you decide to sell you could expect anything from pounds 75 to pounds 300.

QMY parents have a collection of nine pieces of Cottageware after visiting car boot fairs for more than a decade.

They never paid more than pounds 3.50 for a single item, acquiring a milk jug, a tall water jug, a large Huntsman jug, a cruet set, and a sugar bowl.

They are all stamped Prices of Kensington. Could you tell me what their collection is worth? - A Smith, London AYOUR parents have done rather well.

The inspiration for these items was the 19th Century Staffordshire cottages - pottery pieces made as pastille burners to disguise the rather pungent smells in homes of the day.

Cottageware sprang up in the inter-war years as part nostalgia, part desire for colour during the Depression. The Huntsman jug is a popular piece but still sells for pounds 30 to pounds 40, the tall water jug for pounds 50 to pounds 60 and a standard milk jug for pounds 20 to pounds 30.

However, few pieces ever sell for more than pounds 50.

QI'VE still got a set of eight encyclopaedias, which were printed in 1963 by George Newnes Limited.

They are entitled Newnes Popular Encyclopaedia and are still in very good condition. Are they worth anything? - Margaret Bell, Hartlepool, Teesside AMOST 20th Century encyclopaedias do not command much interest or money these days.

Prior to the internet, they were hugely popular and were in most homes.

Like most old-fashioned Singer sewing machines, they appear to have some value, but in reality it's not very much.

They were difficlt to store and became out of date every few years.

Your set actually came in 38 volumes. The whole work comprises two million words, running to over 3,000 pages. If you had the whole set, y o u 'd still be only looking at around pounds 50.

Send questions to Treasure Hunters, Sunday Mirror, 1 Canada Square, London E14 5AP or send an email (with your address) to j.breese@sundaymirror.co.uk - sorry, but he can't reply personally. Visit www.jamiebreese.co.uk and follow Jamie on Twitter @jamiebreese

CAPTION(S):

The Exakta camera is a real gem No one seems to want to buy encyclopaedias these days