An 18th century Hebrew prayer book which may have belonged to a prominent rabbi has sold for more than 14 times its estimate.

The manuscript of Tikune Shabat features prayers and devotions for the Sabbath and sold for £71,250 at auction on Tuesday. It had a guide price of between £5,000 and £10,000.

It contains Sabbath hymns, the prayer for the New Moon, and Perek Shirah, an ancient hymn of praise.

Featured on the decorated title page is Moses holding the Tablets of the Law,  and Aaron, his brother, dressed in high priest vestments, a frequent motif in 18th-century Hebrew manuscripts.

After the British Library examined the book, a connection to prominent German rabbi and Talmudist Jacob Emden (1697-1776), who championed Orthodox Judaism, was uncovered.

The book states it belonged to Abraham ben [son of] Meir Emden with a date of February 3, 1757.

Though hard to prove, experts say it is possible Abraham was the son of Meir (1717-1795) whose father was Jacob. Meir had been a rabbi and Av Bet-Din (senior jurist).

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The front cover of the prayer book (Photo: Hansons)

The book belonged to retired teachers Martin Wilson, 66, and his 77-year-old wife Susan, who had no idea of the book's value and only took it to an auctioneer while selling a rare copy of Harry Potter.

Susan and Martin, from Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria, watched the auction online as three phone bidders competed to buy the book.

Martin said: "It was with a degree of incredulity that we watched the sale. We are a little stunned by the outcome. It will no doubt take a little time to sink in.

"The prayer book was discovered by my wife's uncle, a Dutchman who lived in central Amsterdam most of his life.

"When he passed away a number of years ago, his wife, my wife's aunt, looked after the book, not realising its significance.

"Our aunt passed away last summer at the age of 98 and the book passed to my wife. We think it's been in the family for around 50 years.”

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A possible connection to prominent German rabbi Jacob Emden (1697-1776) was uncovered (Photo: Hansons)

He added: “We were selling a Harry Potter book with Hansons and, by chance, took the prayer book with us to show their books expert Jim Spencer.

"He took an interest in it and organised expert consideration. We were aware it was old, exquisitely made and of some historical significance.

"However, we were not aware of just how much significance."

Jim Spencer, of Hansons, said: "The final result surpassed all expectations. One man from London came to view it and his reaction on studying it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

"He just kept saying, 'this is so important'. He was completely in awe. I've never had a client appreciate an object like that before.

"And yet it was shown to me as something of an after-thought. The vendor visited me to consign a Harry Potter book.

"However, before we shook hands to leave, he pulled this little leather case out of his bag and asked me if it was anything worth looking at.”

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The manuscript contains Sabbath hymns, the prayer for the New Moon, and Perek Shirah, an ancient hymn of praise (Photo: Hansons)

Spencer added: "I was completely bowled over by it. It's beautiful. I reached out to museums and eventually received the kind help and immense knowledge of Ilana Tahan, lead curator of Hebrew and Christian Orient Collections at the British Library.

"Ilana provided the information necessary to catalogue the item. It's an important part of Jewish history, a museum piece that deserves to be treasured."

The hammer price was £57,000 but the final amount of £71,250 when including the buyer's premium add on.