Ebay of the Day: Blonder Tongue Audio Baton

This is a Blonder Tongue Audio Baton - a fully-working valve graphic equalizer from 1959, currently at $100. I have just one question. Why doesn't audio gear look like this any more?
UPDATE: Eric from Metasonix has got in touch: "The Audio Baton was definitely the first graphic EQ ever offered to the public, but it was a marketing failure. It cost $118 at a time when you could buy a Mini Cooper for $800, and it was mono, so you'd need two (Ben Tongue, the inventor, didn't understand the concept of stereo sound). And it wasn't really built for recording studios. In those days, electronic processing was frowned upon by unionized engineers. Engineers tried to fix frequency response problems by using a different mic or moving the mic.
"You oughta bid on that thing. It is a guaranteed collectible, and guaranteed rare as hell. The only websites about it are this one, and this interview with Ben Tongue."
Thanks, Eric. Bidding is now up to $182, with a day and a half left!