The publication of ancient Syriac documents was a passion for Budge. In this two-volume set, volume 1 in Syriac and volume 2 in English, Budge offers the two documents entitled The History of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The History of the Likeness of Christ which the Jews of Tiberias Made to Mock at. These two manuscripts represent the genre of New Testament apocrypha and originate in perhaps the late fourth century. The first document, published by Budge for the first time, concerns itself with the conception, birth, and infancy of Mary before the annunciation, and then recounts her death and assumption. It includes stories of Jesus’ infancy as well, attributing miracles both to Mary and to objects associated with Jesus, such as his swaddling bands and his bath water. This text was doubtlessly intended to increase devotion to Mary at a time when her importance was widely appreciated. The latter of the two manuscripts on the likeness of Christ concerns a curious belief that images of a person, in this case Christ, have the ability to transform themselves into the characters that they represent. This ancient belief seems to have lasted until at least Late Antiquity in the early church.

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (1857-1934) began his remarkable career in the unlikely position of a clerk who had ended his official schooling at the age of 12. Nevertheless he learned Hebrew, Syriac, and Assyrian. Contacts at the British Museum helped him afford an education at Cambridge University and he returned to the British Museum in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities. His interest in Egyptian matters soon came to dominate his interests. Budge wrote a plethora of books, many of which are still consistently cited.