A Grammar of the Malayan Language, with an Introduction and a Praxis. London, for the author by Cox and Baylis, 1812.

4to. Pp. (iv), (50), (2), 226, (1). Text printed in English and Arabic. Somewhat later brown cloth, corners bumped, hinges cracked, spine ends chipped. Internally fine. First edition.William Marsden (1754-1836) British historian, linguist, numismatist and pioneer in the scientific study of Indonesia. For eight years he resided in Bencoolen (Bangkhulu) in Sumatra where he studied the language and the people. Back in England, he was encouraged by Sir Joseph Banks and others from the Royal Society to prepare his collected material for publication. His extensive work "History of Sumatra" appeared in 1783 and in 1812 he published this grammar and also a dictionary of the Malay language, which form the basis of all subsequent Sumatran linguistics. Contains an interesting introduction and at the end a section with Malayan texts and the English translation. Cordier BI 1405. Vater p. 244.After the author's 50-page introduction, discussing the previous literature, the language and the situation in the East Indies, he provides a table showing the Malay alphabet, giving the stand-alone form in the Arabic script, the phonetic equivalent, the name of the letter in the Arabic and the phonetic Latin script. The last 89 pages provide sample Malay texts in the Arabic script, each followed by an English translation. These were intended as examples to help students learn the language, but they are now also of value for preserving the Malay texts and providing a translation.With the title-page slightly foxed, but otherwise in very good condition, with only an occasional minor marginal defect, and with large margins. A landmark of European Malay scholarship and of the British East India Company's relations with Malayans.l.…