Supplement:The Forgery of Colophons and Ownership of Hebrew Codices and Scrolls by Abraham Firkowicz

The manuscripts and Torah scrolls that Abraham Firkowicz (1787-1874) appropriated served the same purpose as the epitaphs he forged. He not only tampered with colophons of codices, but also fabricated long Karaite ownership inscriptions and records of dedication to Karaite foundations that allegedly attested to the early settlement of the Karaites on the Crimean Peninsula. Above all, like his date-changing in epitaphs, he inscribed very old dates within the first millennium in the many fake notes he added to liturgical Torah scrolls. He did not tamper extensively with authentic colophons or paratexts, but mainly fabricated paratexts of his own and occasionally created historical records as well.