The documents from the Cairo Genizah published in this volume were acquired by Charles L. Freer in Egypt in 1908 and are housed in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. After purchasing several significant Greek manuscripts in 1906, which generated substantial interest, Freer made a special trip to Egypt in 1908 to seek additional manuscripts. Although his search did not yield further Greek manuscripts, he obtained Coptic parchments and Genizah fragments. The Coptic Psalter and other materials were examined by Dr. William H. Worrell at the University of Michigan, and subsequently published. Richard Gottheil began preparing the Genizah documents for publication in 1912, but the project was delayed by World War I. The responsibility was later transferred to Professor Worrell, who completed the volume. Various scholars and institutions contributed to the project, which was funded by the Freer Research and Publication Fund, with the heliotype plates executed by the Heliotype Company under Mr. W. C. Ramsay's direction.