HIGH-end tech from the not-too-distant past was music to the ears of some bidders when it went under the hammer at Moore Allen & Innocent’s antiques auction in Cirencester on October 16.

An iconic Bang & Olufsen Beosound 9000 CD player, along with a set of Beolab 8000 speakers achieved £380 against an auctioneer’s estimate of £100 to £150.

Danish manufacturer Bang & Olufsen heralded the new millennium with a stunning six-CD changer.

It was said to be the fastest CD changer in the world, moving from disc to disc at 100kph.

The unit was designed to work in multiple positions – horizontal on a flat surface like a conventional player, vertical on a stand, or even wall-mounted.

As such, it became an instant design classic, and the must-have accessory for trendy bars and living rooms.

Working examples can still change hands for between £500 and £1,000, so the new owner of this set – who took a gamble on a unit in ‘untested’ condition – could have snapped up a real bargain.

Also offered for sale were two Bang & Olufsen televisions on stands, together with an Apple Mac monitor, which achieved £420 against an estimate of £80 to £120.

Elsewhere in the auction, a box containing a collection of Prattware pot lids drew the attention of collectors, making £320 against an estimate of £80 to £120.

The collection included five in mahogany and satinwood strung frames, with the images depicting Dogs by a Boiling Cauldron, High Life, Both Alike, Strathfieldsaye The Seat of The Duke of Wellington, and Dr Johnson, along with 11 unframed lids.

The commercial possibilities of using new printing technology to decorate the lids of containers for anything from foodstuffs to cosmetics was spotted by Victorian entrepreneur Felix Edward Pratt.

From 1840 his Staffordshire firm became the leading producer of decorated lids, and watercolour artist Jesse Austin produced more than 500 images that adorned the hundreds of thousands of lids produced.

Although the company is no longer going, the influence can be seen on the shelves of supermarkets today. Meanwhile, pot lid collecting became immensely popular in the 1920s, and a Pot Lid Collectors Society still exists today.

Staying with homewares, a large stoneware dough prover with metal lid, together with a large painted metal shop tea canister inscribed Superior Mixed Tea sold for £260 against an estimate of £50 to £80.

And two Lalique Gui – or ‘mistletoe’ – vases, one with blue infill decoration, the other frosted, sold for £280 and £380 respectively, just around the £300 each auctioneers had been expecting.

The next auction is the Selected Sale of antiques and pictures on Friday, November 6, followed by an antique and general auction on Friday, November 27.

For more information, log on to mooreallen.co.uk