I can't find any camellias registered under the name 'John Ford' in the SCCS 'Camellia Nomenclature' book or the web Camellia Register, but that just means that the name wasn't registered.

Sometimes an unidentified variety of camellia might be called by the name of the person whose garden it was in. So your camellia could be an old variety that was found in John Ford's garden. Or possibly it was a seedling that someone decided to name 'John Ford', but they didn't register the name.

"Antique zonal" has me stumped, though. If the tag was handwritten or faded, could it be a Sunset Zone designation, such as zone A1?

Generally, camellias like part-shade. Too much sun will scald the leaves, but too little sun & your plant may not flower well. Camellias like well-drained, slightly acidic soil, and should be watered regularly for the first 2 years, and during extended dry spells after that. When you plant the camellia, be careful not to plant too deep. For more info, I'm including a link to the ACS page on planting camellias.

The SoCal Camellia Society is very active, and it might be a good idea to get in touch with them to see if anyone can help you decipher your camellia tag, and also to ask any questions about growing camellias in your area.

Feel free to post a photo of the tag and/or the camellia's flower- probably your plant is a japonica camellia if it's from 1940, but it might be a sasanqua or other camellia species...

Here is a link that might be useful: American Cam Soc link on planting camellias

PS If it's the pot itself that is labeled, my alternate theory is that there is/was an antique zonal geranium variety named 'John Ford', and the pot was re-used for your camellia...