Sometimes described as the wireless which saved Ekco, the radical Bakelite circular Model AD65 radio designed by Wells Coates in the 1933 sold in its tens of thousands. It restored the fortunes of the Essex factory after a disastrous fire in 1932.
Buyers at the time favoured the black and brown models above the green radios, which today are extremely rare.
The black model offered at Henry Adams’ (20% buyer’s premium) in Chichester on November 9, pictured right, was catalogued with the caveat a/f – but its original bentwood stand was the main attraction. It had the Ekco label beneath the shelf and a West Country collector arrived in the rooms determined to buy it. With two phone rivals quickly taking it beyond the £200-300 estimate, the radio and stand went to the collector at £1600.