I suddenly saw a figure looking out at me from a catalogue for a Bonham’s book sale on 31 March. Such catalogues are a dangerous temptation to place a bid.

The man with the steady gaze looked like a cross between a highwayman and a clergyman. His hat was a bit like Dick Turpin’s cocked hat, but I couldn’t quite read it. We have lost hat literacy.

The clerical aspect came from the bands he wore, like a barrister today, or John Wesley. He had a cloak instead of a coat, over a cassock, and one hand was tucked into a sash round his waist.

Underneath, it said: “The Rev Solomon Hirschell (left), Chief Rabbi of the German and Polish Jews in England.” The book was The Form of Daily Prayers in Hebrew and (“carefully”) translated.