I(EKAl ABADI Serita Perpustakaan Universiti Malaya Jil. 13 bil. 3 September 1994 Percuma ISSN 0127-2578 Malay books printed in Bombay a report on sources for historical bibliography I. Proudfoot" Abstrak: Sejak akhir abad kesembilanbelas, banyak buku bahasa Melayu telah diusahakan oleh pencetak Islam di Bombay. Pendokumentasian kegiatan ini masih belum cukup sempurna. Sumber-sumber yang berguna untuk penyusunan bibliografi percetakan bahasa Melayu di Bombay ialah warta-warta kerajaan Bombay dan buku- buku yang didaftarkan dan dipelihara menurut undang-undang hakcipta. Sumber- sumber ini dibincangkan di dalam makalah ini. Oi antara yang terdapat dalam lampiran-Iampiran kepada makalah ini ialah perbincangan ringkas mengenai peruntukan undang-undang di India dan di Straits Settlements, petikan dari warta kerajaan Bombay dan gambaran mengenai skop kegiatan percetakan ini. Abstract: Since the end of the nineteenth century, many Malay books have been printed by Muslim printers in Bombay. This publishing activity has not yet been well documented. Useful sources for a bibliography of Bombay Malay-language printing are the Bombay Government Gazettes and the books preserved under copyright deposit legislation. This article introduces these sources. In the appendices it summa- rises the legal provisions applicable in India and the Straits Settlements, reproduces excerpts from the Bombay Government Gazette, and gives an impression of the scope of this printing. The history of Malay books and printing is still being written. The historical bibliography of Malay is still in its infancy. This article is a preliminary report on some resources which will extend historical bibliography in a specific direction, though a significant one. The impor- tance of Bombay as a source of Malay printed books in the early twentieth century is easily Underestimated. These Bombay imprints ap- pealed to rather conventional Muslim tastes. They were lithographed manuscript-style in the Arabic Uawl) script, and comprised mainly works on religion (kitab) as well as an established repertoire of popular ballads (syait). It seems likely that the earliest Muslim print- ing in the Malay language outside Southeast Asia took place in Bombay. The evidence for • AsianStudiesFaculty,AustralianNationalUniversity. this is the survival of two booklets containing short poems which were lithographed in Bom- bay in 1874. These booklets happened to find their way into the library of the Batavian Soci- ety of Arts and Sciences ten years later, but there is no reason to believe that they are in fact the first Malay books published in Bombay. ( ccrrtinued on pag~ 2) Ul\NJ)IJNf'l\N/f~ON'I'I~N'I'S Malay books printed In Bombay Perolehan Istlmewa Ulasan Buku 21 23 Kertas Kerla Persldangan Yang Dlperolehl 26 Laporan Persldangan 43 Berlta Rlngkas 47 Hal Ehwal Kakltangan 48 Update on Computerlsatlon Penerbltan Baru 51 52
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I(EKAl ABADISerita Perpustakaan Universiti Malaya
Jil. 13 bil. 3 September 1994 Percuma ISSN 0127-2578
Malay books printed in Bombaya report on sources for historical bibliography
I. Proudfoot"
Abstrak: Sejak akhir abad kesembilanbelas, banyak buku bahasa Melayu telahdiusahakan oleh pencetak Islam di Bombay. Pendokumentasian kegiatan ini masihbelum cukup sempurna. Sumber-sumber yang berguna untuk penyusunan bibliografipercetakan bahasa Melayu di Bombay ialah warta-warta kerajaan Bombay dan buku-buku yang didaftarkan dan dipelihara menurut undang-undang hakcipta. Sumber-sumber ini dibincangkan di dalam makalah ini. Oi antara yang terdapat dalamlampiran-Iampiran kepada makalah ini ialah perbincangan ringkas mengenaiperuntukan undang-undang di India dan di Straits Settlements, petikan dari wartakerajaan Bombay dan gambaran mengenai skop kegiatan percetakan ini.
Abstract: Since the end of the nineteenth century, many Malay books have beenprinted by Muslim printers in Bombay. This publishing activity has not yet been welldocumented. Useful sources for a bibliography of Bombay Malay-language printingare the Bombay Government Gazettes and the books preserved under copyrightdeposit legislation. This article introduces these sources. In the appendices it summa-rises the legal provisions applicable in India and the Straits Settlements, reproducesexcerpts from the Bombay Government Gazette, and gives an impression of the scopeof this printing.
The history of Malay books and printing isstill being written. The historical bibliographyof Malay is still in its infancy. This article is apreliminary report on some resources whichwill extend historical bibliography in a specificdirection, though a significant one. The impor-tance of Bombay as a source of Malay printedbooks in the early twentieth century is easilyUnderestimated. These Bombay imprints ap-pealed to rather conventional Muslim tastes.They were lithographed manuscript-style in theArabic Uawl) script, and comprised mainly workson religion (kitab) as well as an establishedrepertoire of popular ballads (syait).
It seems likely that the earliest Muslim print-ing in the Malay language outside SoutheastAsia took place in Bombay. The evidence for
this is the survival of two booklets containingshort poems which were lithographed in Bom-bay in 1874. These booklets happened to findtheir way into the library of the Batavian Soci-ety of Arts and Sciences ten years later, butthere is no reason to believe that they are infact the first Malay books published in Bombay.
( ccrrtinued on pag~ 2)
Ul\NJ)IJNf'l\N/f~ON'I'I~N'I'S
Malay books printed In BombayPerolehan IstlmewaUlasan Buku
2123
Kertas Kerla Persldangan Yang Dlperolehl 26Laporan Persldangan 43Berlta Rlngkas 47Hal Ehwal Kakltangan 48Update on ComputerlsatlonPenerbltan Baru
5152
Even the date of 1874 puts Bombay ahead ofother overseas centres of Malay-languagepublishing. Cairo probably began Malay andJavanese printing a few years later. Malaylanguage printing in Mecca began in 1884, andin Istanbul also about that date.'
In the nineteenth century, Singapore wasthe leading centre of Southeast Asian Muslimprinting. However, as the pace of Muslimprinting accelerated, Singapore printers failedto keep up. By the turn of the twentieth centurythere were probably more copies of Malaybooks in the Arabic UawI) script being producedin Bombay than in Singapore; indeed for adecade or so it is possible that a greater bulk ofMalay Muslim printing was done in Bombaythan anywhere else in the world. Malay andJavanese printing was still underway in Bom-bay in the 1950s, when Padwick reported thatshe saw "in the courtyard of a printing press inBombay huge bales of Arabic books, Our'ans,and - small works of devotion, destined forJava." Matheson and Hooker found someMalay books of this vintage among the oldstock in Muslim bookshops they approached inthe mid 1980s.3
As with any historical bibliography, the mainsource of information is the books themselves.For Bombay printing we are fortunate to haveanother rich source of information provided bythe Indian law regulating printing presses, whichcame into operation in 1867. (The provisionsof the Indian law are broadly similar to thoseintroduced in the Straits Settlements twentyyears later.)
The importance of the copyright law forhistorical bibliography is two-fold. First, itsrequirements for the legal deposit of publishedworks has meant that a selection of early printedbooks have survived the ravages of time inpublic repositories. This is particularly impor-tant for earlier periods. We owe almost all weknow about Bombay Malay publishing in thenineteenth century to the provisions for legaldeposit. Second, the catalogues of depositedbooks were published quarterly, and contain agreat deal of useful information about publish-ers, print-runs, prices and so forth. Althoughthis data is detailed for the particular itemsregistered, there are always questions aboutthe completeness and reliability of the informa-tion reported.
2
Evidence from the Government Gazettes
Indian scholars concerned with India's ret-rospective national bibliography have assumedthat the quarterly catalogues of deposited booksare comprehensive.' This seems most unlikely.It is very clearly not the case with Malay-language publications, very few of which arelisted. This can be demonstrated in variousways. While we have surviving examples ofMalay books printed in Bombay from 1876 tothe 1960s, Malay book registrations appearonly from 1890 to 1915, with one further in1927. Even for the period 1890 to 1915, inwhich there are registrations, the record is veryincomplete. Two publishers put out books in1906 and 1909 which advertise lists of Malaybooks in stock, and out of the 62 titles listed,less than one-third had been reqistered." Thisis how it is possible for the library of the DewanBahasa dan Pustaka to have eleven Bombayimprints in its library, none of which is regis-tered.
This very low level of compliance is sympto-matic of a mis-match between a colonial ad-ministrative regime and the realities of thelocal printing industry. We can get some per-spective on this from the report by Grant, aneducation official charged with compiling aretrospective bibliography of Bombay publica-tions on the eve of the 1867 law. Grant foundthat two major causes of his catalogue's incom-pleteness were "(1) the absence, in many cases,of regular records in the printing offices; (2) thecarelessness or obstructiveness of printers orpublishers, who failed to see that they had aninterest in facilitating the returns, and whoperhaps suspected the motives of the Govern-ment in calling for them."6 Even though hisretrospective listing was based upon not onebut two visits by inspectors to the printingpresses, Grant believed that he had capturedonly half of the publications which actuallyappeared, though he believed his catalogue tobe representative.'
Apart from Grant's project, the colonial au-thorities did not actively hunt down publica-tions. They relied on the stick and the carrot.The penalties for non-compliance were finesand confiscation of deposit copies. Of coursenon-compliance had to be detected first. Con-sequently penalties probably hindered ratherthan helped in achieving a complete catalogue.
It is known that one Marathi publisher was dealtwith under these provisions. Having been igno-rant of the deposit provisions and learning ofhis obligation, he presented copies of workspublished in earlier years to the Secretary'soffice. For his trouble he was reprimanded andfined,8 _ an outcome not likely to encourageothers to co-operate. On the other side, therewas a slight monetary incentive to comply. TheAct of 1867 required three best-quality copiesto be deposited, but also required the officerreceiving them to pay for them at the normalretail (not wholesale) rate. Even though thisopened the way fer some profitable scams,"the deposit clause of the 1867 Act supposedly"stirred widespread objections". After 1890,payment for deposit copies was stopped, andthereafter the requirement to supply up tothree copies free of charge "generated lastingdissatisfaction on the part of the book tradethroughout the country."?
The benefits of compliance were illusory.The process of registration offered printers theopportunity to claim copyright on their publica-tions. This required a payment of Rs 2 (aboutS$0.90), not a great sum perhaps, indeed onewhich would often be just about covered by theprice received for the three copies surren-dered. But the European conception of copy-right embodied in the Act was neither under-stood nor relevant to Bombay's Muslim pub-lishers. If the terms of the Act were understood,few publishers could claim to be "the author ofa literary or artistic works [when] first pro-duced".l1 Only three out of the fifty or soregistered Malay and Javanese editions in-clude copyright claims, and none meet thiscriterion. All were standard religious texts inthe public domain, and two had in fact beenpreviously published in Singapore.12 And ifCopyright could be validly claimed, what usewas that? To prove it meant not just paying afurther Rs 2 to the registrar but commencing aprohibitively costly civil claim in a Presidenc~-level court. If a publisher wished to protect htsWork from pirates, was he not better advised toIonow the example of Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal,Who simply made unsubstantiated claims thathis editions were legally protected? The truthWas that the British legal superstructure w~slargely irrelevant to the operations of Muslimprinters. Just how irrelevant is shown by thetact that the copyright legislation had be~nIntended to make defence of copyright easier
and cheaperl Anyway, very tew bothered to gothrough the formalities of registering copyright.Butt puts this down to "a high degree of mutualunders~anding among a small community en-gaged In book trade activity"." Padwick maybe closer to the mark, when she observes that"_ the publication of these [Islamic] manualswas not publication as known in the West.There is no copyright, no authoritative editionand generally no distinction between printe~and publisher. While a few larger firms in Cairoand Bombay have a regular trade in prayer-manuals for export, for the most part smallprintings are undertaken here and there. Thesemay be at the cost of a pious benefactor orbecause the presence of a group of devoteesshows a local printer an opportunity for sale.">
The low rate of registration achieved, meantthat few of the books published were retained inpublic collections. Of these few, in turn, only afew survive. Most deposit copies were retainedin India, to suffer a variety of fates. It wasreported in 1890, "of 22,524 books in nativelanguages deposited with Bombay UniversityLibrary [since 1871],5164 have been destroyed,mainly by white ants, or are mlssinq." TheUniversity wished to divest itself of the remain-ing volumes." Some were sent to safe obscu-rity in London. A copy of the quarterly list ofregistered books was forwarded to the BritishMuseum. From that list, the Museum requisi-tioned books for its library." Staff making theseselections were less interested in bibliographythan in building a representative collection oftexts, and were therefore rather sparing in theirrequests. Second or later editions of texts seemnot to have been of interest to them, nor weretranslations of standard texts into local lan-guages. Fortunately, Malay and Javanese publi-cations were rather a rarity in Bombay andattracted attention. About half were selectedfor transmission to the Museum.
So much for the coverage of the registra-tions. What of their quality? The eminent In-dian bibliographer, Govi, comments, "The ma-chinery built up for administering the [PrintingPresses] Act differed from presidency to presi-dency, as also the officials responsible fordrawing up the catalogues. The quality of thequarterly catalogues varied with the ability andbackground of the officers and administration.The catalogues suffer from such defects as
confusion of author and other collaborators,incorrect statements concerning editions, in-correct transcriptions of titles, and inadequateand, in some cases, misleading representationof the subject of the book."? The same obser-vations could be extended to the similar bookregistrations in the Straits Settlements. In factthe Bombay registrations stand up fairly well onmost counts. They are certainly better in-formed than the Straits Settlements registra-tions. The reason is that those charged withcompiling the Bombay lists were experts of akind. The lists were compiled at first by theEducation department" and then the OrientalTranslator's Office. Attached to the HomeDepartment of the Bombay government after1902, this Office remained the agency dealingwith native publishers until it was redesignatedas the Office of the Examiner of Books andPublications in 1951.19 Clerks of the OrientalTranslator's Office did not know Malay or Java-nese, but they could at least read the Arabicscript and provide translations of the titles ofthe books. After 1906 their descriptions wereenhanced by giving the short titles of the booksin the appropriate script as well as in Romantranscription. This level of expertise and inter-est puts the Colonial Secretary's office in Sin-gapore to shame. Malay books are better de-scribed and reported in Bombay than in Singa-pore, where it is evident that the clerks han-dling the registration often could not read theArabic script and did not care to enquire.
So, this Bombay cloth has quality but notwidth. It will not sustain any analysis of trendsin Malay printing activity. It has been possibleto use the Straits Settlements records for thispurpose because they provide a far more com-plete account of the small local industry. More-over, their defects could be corrected becauseall the rather small number of Straits registeredbooks were automatically deposited with theBritish Museum. The very size, diversity andvigour of the Bombay printing industry made itinfeasible to get a comprehensive record.
Evidence from the books themselves
The primary source of information for his-torical bibliography is always the publishedbooks themselves. The richest collection ofpublications from the turn of the century is the
British Library's, most of which were preserved,thanks to the registration laws. These bookshave been described briefly by Gallop in herintroduction to the Malay books in the BritishLibrary.2o After about 1915, however, the Brit-ish Library's collection dries up. For the laterperiods, from the 1920s onwards, Bombay im-prints are more likely to be found in Malaysianlibraries, private collections in Southeast Asia,and even on the back shelves of long-estab-lished Muslim bookshops.
The books themselves are direct evidenceof the sophistication of Bombay printing, itsstyle, its technical quality, and all the aspectsof form. As well, the books give explicit infor-mation on authors, publishers, printers andsometimes sales agents. Bombay imprints arerich in this regard. Whereas Singapore litho-graphs tend to be more reticent, Malay booksprinted in Bombay generally display rather fullinformation of this kind on elaborate title pagesand covers. From the Bombay books in theBritish library, for instance, we learn of foursales outlets in Singapore used by Bombayprinters to sell their books. Bombay printerswere more alive to the possibilities of self-publicity than their Singapore counterparts.The greater detail of information provided alsoreflects a more highly organised industry. Titlepages may contain for instance printed annota-tions indicating the print run, the edition, andthe press operator. The minuscule size ofthese annotations and their inconspicuousplacements (often below the frame of the elabo-rate title page), mark them as technical notesuseful to the printing shop.
Beside being primary sources of informa-tion themselves, the published books also pro-vide information about other publications. Ihave come across three books which have ontheir back pages a list of titles available forsale. Two of these lists appeared quite closetogether in time, in 1906 and 1909, but in booksput out by different publishers. Each claims tolist books printed at their respective presses,"however the number of items common to bothlists suggests otherwise. Allowing for somecross-listing of titles printed by their contempo-rary colleagues, altogether 60 tiles are men-tioned. Few of the titles listed are known to usthrough registration in the Bombay PresidencyCatalogue. The second of the lists at least islent a certain credibility by annotation zer tab'
(in the press) placed against one of its items.The third list appeared two decades later, in1926.22 The book in which it appears was notregistered, and neither were any of the 43books which were listed on its back cover (withone possible exception).
Together, the quarterly catalogues of printedbooks and the surviving books themselves fur-nish the basis of an historical bibliography. Thegreatest hope for extending its scope lies in amore methodical and wider search for surviv-ing Bombay imprints.
Appendix ISketch of legislative provisions for registration of books
Indian Act no.XX of 1847
The first Indian legislation on copyright wasthe Indian Act no.XX of 1847.23 It applied in allterritories of the East India Company, includingthe Straits Settlements. This legislation pro-vided a means for registering copyright bysetting up a public register of copyright inbooks. This register was nominally to be keptin the Office of the Secretary for the HomeDepartment, though in practice local arrange-ments were made. In Bombay, the register ofcopyright in books was kept in the PatentsOffice, and in the Straits Settlements in theoffices of the Colonial Secretary for the StraitsSettlements at Penang and Singapore. Thepractical purpose of the Act no.XX of 1847 wasto provide a convenient way of proving copy-right. An extract from the register was primafacie proof of copyright, and would be acceptedas such in a court of law. There was nocompulsion to register copyright. To do sorequired payment of a fee of Rs.2 (about S$0.90),and the provision of basic information aboutthe publication concerned, namely:
• the title of the book• the name of the publisher• the place of publication• the name and address of the holder of
copyright• the date of publication
Three Singapore publishers and one Penangpublisher claim to have registered editions un-der this Act.24 In all cases, this is indicated bya notice to this effect printed on the title pagein Roman script.
Indian Act no.XXV of 1867 (Press andRegistration of Books Act)
Act no.XX of 1847 on Copyright was supple-mented by the Press and Registration of Books
Act, no.XXV of 1867.25 The aims of this Act areevident from its long title, "An Act for theregulation of printing presses and newspapers,for the preservation of copies of books printedin British India, and for the registration of suchbooks." The Act set up an elaborate mecha-nism forthe acquisition and description of printedmaterials.
The new law was enacted at the behest ofthe Royal Asiatic Society. The Society be-lieved that all lndian publications were subjectto legal deposit in the five depository librariesof the British Isles, by virtue of British Imperiallegislation. Given that it was not feasible toarrange deposit on this scale, the Society askedthe government "at least to collect quarterly thetitles of all Native books and pamphlets thatissue from the Indian presses."26 Means ofsatisfying the Society were formulated by theBombay Director of Public Instruction, and em-bodied in the Act of 1867.
The steps taken under this Act, to preserveand record publications make its provisionssignificant for bibliographical history. Threenew areas of regulation were particularly im-portant:
It required every book to have printed leg-ibly upon it the names of the printer and of thepublisher and the places of printing and ofpublishing (sec.III).
Further, it introduced statutory deposit re-quirements. Until 1890, the Act required thecompulsory delivery of three best-quality cop-ies of every book published to the office of theLocal Government. Unlike modern cornpul-sory deposit rules, the Act required the officerreceiving the three copies to pay for them at thenormal retail rate (sec. X). The idea of paymentwas suggested by Grant, who had been compil-
ing a retrospective catalogue of native publica-tions requested by the Royal Asiatic Societyand was well aware of the practical difficultiesin getting co-operation from the local publish-ers." In 1890, the payment for copies deliv-ered was abolished. Thereafter printers wererequired to deliver copies free to the Govern-ment. However, the printer was now requiredto deliver only one copy in the first instance,though he could be required to deliver a furthertwo copies for up to one year after publication.The first deposit copy was to be deposited in alocal public library. From 1871 to 1890 thiswas, at the suggestion of Grant, the BombayUniversity Library." The second and thirdcopies were available to be sent to London tothe British Museum and to the Secretary ofState for. India, viz. to the India Office. After1890, the second and third copies would beacquired and sent only upon request.
Finally, the new law provided for the de-tailed registration of compulsorily acquiredbooks. Following guidelines suggested by theRoyal Asiatic Society, the memorandum ofregistration was to include the following par-ticulars (sec.XVIII)29:
(1) the title of the book and the contents ofthe title-page, with a translation intoEnglish - ;
(2) the language in which the book is writ-ten;
(3) the name of the author, translator oreditor of the book -;
(4) the subject;(5) the place of printing and the place of
publication;(6) the name or firm of the printer and the
name or firm of the publisher;(7) the date of issue from the press, or of
the publication;(8) the number of sheets, leaves or pages;(9) the size;
(10) the first, second or other number of theedition;
(11) the number of copies of which the edi-tion consists;
(12) whether the book is printed or litho-graphed;
(13) the price at which the book Is sold to thepublic; and
(14) the name and residence of the proprietorof the copyright - .
This last item was recorded only where aclaim for copyright was made in the mannerlaid down in the Act of 1847, after payment ofthe requisite fee. The new Act made no changeto the provisions for copyright which alreadyapplied under the Act of 1847; it simply pro-vided a new mechanism for recording claims tocopyright.
Certain classes of publication were exempt-ed from the registration provisions by theGovernor General. Government publicationswere a major exempt class." There was inde-cision over whether books reissued without"any additions or alterations'?' were exempt,as also whether this provision could apply tolithoqraphs."
These memoranda of books received wereto be published in a quarterly Catalogue (sec.XIX).The Catalogue was to be published in the localGazette. In Bombay, the quarterly Catalogueof Books was published as a supplement to theBombay Government Gazette entitled Cata-logue of Books Printed in the Bombay Presi-dency. Copies were sent to London to theSecretary of State for India, and to the HomeDepartment in Calcutta, later Delhi. Copies.were also sent to the British Museum, fromwhich the requests for supply of listed bookscould be made.
Although the Straits Settlements were stillunder Indian rulewhen the Indian Printing Pressesand Newspapers Act received assent in 1867,the new law did not apply in the Straits Settle-ments. The Straits Settlements were to be-come Crown Colonies later in 1867, and inanticipation of this change, the new Indian Actspecifically excluded "the Settlement of Princeof Wales Island, Singapore, and Malacca" fromits effects (sec. I). This left the old Act no.XX of1847 alone in force in the Straits Settlements.From this point on, the legislation in India andin the Straits Settlements follow different paths.
Straits Settlements Ordinance no.15 of 1886
For the next twenty years there was nolegislation requiring the deposit and preserva-tion of works printed in the Straits Settlements.This neglect was remedied in 1886.33 In theprevious year the British Government had signedthe Berne Convention. This Convention agreedon an International Copyright Union respecting
common standards of copyright. In Britain, thesestandards were embodied in the InternationalCopyright Act of 1886. The passage of thisImperial legislation made enabling provisionsnecessary in the various colonial jurisdictionswhere they were lacking, including the StraitsSettlements. This was one purpose of StraitsSettlements Ordinance nO.1S of 1886. ThisStraits Enactment completely displaced theearlier Indian Act no.XX of 1847. It provided forregistration without fee of books notified to theColonial Secretary's office, and further thatsuch registration would itself be prima facieevidence of copyright in cases of dispute. Unlikethe Indian Printing Presses and NewspapersAct, the Straits Settlements Ordinance con-ferred automatic copyright in all registered books.
In other respects the Straits SettlementsOrdinance strongly resembled the Indian Act,as is shown by its long title: "An Ordinance toProvide forthe Preservation of Copies of Booksprinted in the Colony and for the Registration ofSuch Books". This Straits Settlements Ordi-nance also required the delivery of three copiesof best quality of all printed works, thoughthese were to be delivered to the ColonialSecretary's office free of charge. The threecopies were directed to similar destinations:one to a local public library (the Raffles Mu-seum), one to the British Museum, and the third
to be disposed of as ordered by the Governor inCouncil. The Ordinance provides for a detailedmemorandum of registration in the same formas th~t required for the Indian catalogues, withtwo differences - namely that item 12 ("whetherthe book is printed or lithographed") was omit-ted; an. ,",,,,t the last item, recording copyright,was always made out, as copyright was auto-matically recognised. Like the Indian cata-logues, the Straits Settlements memorandawere published quarterly in the GovernmentGazette. Copies of the published memorandawere sent to the British Museum (in duplicate)and to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Indian Act no.3 of 1914 (Indian CopyrightAct, 1914)
Finally the Indian legislation was broughtinto line with that in the other colonies, includ-ing the Straits Settlements. New copyrightlegislation had been passed by the Imperialparliament in the form of the Copyright Act1911. This led to· the enactment of the IndianCopyright Act no. III of 1914.34 It reaffirmed theprinciple that intrinsic copyright lay with theauthor, and abolished the payment of Rs 2 forcopyright registraton which had remained inforce from the days of the Copyright Act 1847via the Press and Registration of Books Act1867.
Appendix IIExcerpts from the Bombay Gazette
Here follow the details of books in the Malayand Javaneselanquaqes recorded in the pub-lished quarterly Catalogue of Books Publishedin the Bombay Presidency (CBPBP). Alsoincluded are a small number of works in ArabicWhich were printed in Bombay on behalf ofSingapore publishers. The information hasbeen excerpted from the copies of the Cata-logues held in the British Library (formerlyBritish Museum). The period covered is fromthe inception of the Catalogue in 1867 to 1930.
. The list is arranged chronologically acc?rd-Ing to the date of publication (which may differfrom the date of registration). The location of~ach extract in the Catalogue is indicated, andIn cases in which a book was requisitioned by
the British Museum, its location in the presentBritish Library (BL OC) collection is indicated. 35
The long period over which the entries arerecorded, the number of different hands in-volved, and the difficulties even the Govern-ment Translator's Office faced when dealingwith Malay and Javanese all produce incon-sistencies in the descriptions. These havebeen smoothed over to some degree, thougha few important variations in names, andpeculiar transcriptions from the period before1906 are given in the endnotes. The BombayCatalogue naturally follows Indian conven-tions of Romanisation. The list below is adapt-ed to Malaysian practice. Thus the letterwaw is transcribed in the Catalogue as 'v', but
7
in the list as 'w'. In the Catalogue, for instance,'Jawi' is always 'Javi'. Similarly with shin, the'sh' of the Catalogue is here 'sy'.
Particulars
(1) TitleAll the books in this list had titles in Arabicor in Arabic script except A Guide to Eng-lish, Hindustani and Malay (no.47), whichmust have had an English title.
(2) LanguageWhile books in the regional languages ofWestern India are recorded with painstak-ingprecision, often being related to dia-lect as well as language, this is not so withJavanese and Malay. The term" Javi" isusually applied indifferently to both."
A peculiarity of the Bombay registrationsis that the registration clerks have occa-sionally confused Malay-Javanese withTamil. The confusion arises because bothwere unfamiliar to the Bombay clerks, bothwere printed in Arabic script, and hadsomewhat similar names, as Tamil wasknown to the Bombay clerks as 'Arvi'.Ironically, the very first registration ofMalay material illustrates this very confu-sion, for under the heading 'Javi' the firstwork listed is in the 'Arvi' language, thesecond in true 'Javi' MalayY
(7) Date of publicationThe dates given are putative dates ofpublication, not actual dates of produc-tion. This is evident in the case of theAlawi press, for which the publicationdates of the four jawi titles registered im-ply an output of 2600 copies comprising304,600 pages (i.e. 76,150 or 38,075 im-pressions) over a period of 7 days. Alsoimplied is that one-third of the year's out-put by the Alawi Press appeared in theseseven days.
(9) SizeThe Catalogue's imperial measurementsare converted to metric.
(11) Number of copiesPrint runs seem generally to be reportedreliably. In cases where information onthe number of copies appears on the titlepage of the book, it usually confirms whatis in the Catalogue. One instance of diver-gence is Manasik a/-Hajj 1907 (no.37),which notes an edition of 3500 on its titlepage, but is credited with 5000 in theCatalogue. Either the size of the editionincreased after the title page had beenwritten up, or there was a clerical slip inthe registration procedure.
(10) First, second or subsequent editionThe least reliable element in the descrip-tions is the designation of the book asbeing a first, second or subsequent edi-tion. Not only carelessness is involvedhere, but also the differing views of what isimplied by publication which Padwicknoted above. Muslim lithographic pub-lishing was in many respects an outgrowthof the manuscript tradition - in whichquite different concepts of originality, re-production, and proprietorship were rel-evant.
(12) Whether the book is printed or litho-graphedAfter 1909, the Catalogue no longerdistinguishes between lithography andtypography, although the presumption isalways for lithography. The main pressesinvolved after 1909, the Karimi Press andthe Muzaffari Steam Press are occasion-ally noted as the Karimi Litho. Press andthe Muzaffari Litho. Steam Press.
(13) PriceAs the government was obliged to payingfor three deposit copies at the 'normalretail price', reported prices may err on thehigh side unti11890. After 1890, the recordof price is not liable to any particular dis-tortion. However it should be recalled thatin the nineteeth century, as today, it wasthe practice to offer large discounts toselling aqents." For convenience, priceequivalents are given in Straits dollarsconverted at the exchange rate of theday."
2. Syaikh Daud bin 'Abdullah PataniMi'raj (Ascent to Heaven) - an account of
the Prophet Muhammad's visit to heavenrepublicationJawi languageBombay: Syaikh Fazlullah" (atAlawi Press)issued 22 April 1890104pp., lithographed, octavo, in edition of
26. Syaikh Syamsuddin 'Ali 'Abdullah Muham-mad ibn Kassim Syafi'i [?]
Taqrib (Nearness to God)Arabic and Jawi languagesSingapore: Isma'il Syaikh Badal (at Karimi
Litho. Press, Bombay)issued 23 January 1906328pp., lithographed, 32 x 22 cm, in edition
of 1850 copies, priced AS.10 [S$0.36]CBPBP 1906, 1st quarter, item 235ordered for BL but not located
27. Haji Muhammad Salih bin 'Umar SamaraniMajmu'ah al-Syari'at al-Kafiyah liI-'Awamm
(A Complete Collection of Precepts forthe Public)
2nd editionJawi language [sc. Javanese]Singapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 25 August 1906388pp., lithographed, 21.5 x 16 ern, in
edition of 2000 copies, priced AS.8[S$0.29]
CBPBP 1906, 3rd quarter, item 127BL OC Jav.65
28. Haji Muhammad Salih bin 'Umar SamaraniLata 'if al- Taharat (Graces of Purification)3rd editionJawi language [sc. Javanese]Singapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 28 August 190696pp., lithographed, 25 x 16.5 cm, in edi-
29. Haji Muhammad Salih bin 'Umar SamaraniMunjiyat (Precepts that Lead to Salvation)2nd editionJawi language [sc. Javanese]Singapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 30 August 1906224pp., lithographed, 25 x 16.5 cm, in
edition of 3000 copies, priced AS.6[S$0.21 ]
CBPBP 1906, 3rd quarter, item 131BL OC Jav.71Note: Kitab Munjiyat compiled from Ihya'
'Ulumai-Din of al-Ghazali; copyist AhmadTaib
30. Abi Imam Sahli bin Salim SamaraniTashil al-Ghabi min Kissah Mi'raj al-Nabi
(A guide giving the story of the ascen-sion of the Prophet for the sake of theforgetful)
Jawi language [sc. Javanese]Singapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 31 August 190648pp., lithographed, 21.5 x 14 ern, in edi-
tion of 3000 copies, priced AS.3 [S$O:11]CBPBP 1906, 3rd quarter, item 125BL OC Jav.69Note: According to title page, 1st edition
(al-marrah al-awali)
31. Syaikh 'Abdul Samad PalembaniHidayat al-Salikin (Directions to the Fol-
lowers)Jawi languageSingapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 3 September 1906140pp., lithographed, 26.5 x 18.5 cm, in
Note: includes at the end also Risalat Najahal-Ikhwanof Sayid 'Uthman bin 'Abdullahbin 'Aqil bin Yahya al-'Alawi al-Husainiwith the commentary el-Durr al-Nafis ofSyaikh Muhammad Nafis ibn Idris al-Banjari
32. Haji Muhammad Salih bin 'Umar SamaraniFesteten» - a commentary on the Surahs
(verses of the Our'an) occuring in prayersJawi language [sc. Javanese]Singapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 3 September 190660pp., lithographed, 21.5 x 16.5 cm, in
edition of 10,000 copies, priced As.1/6[S$0.05]
CBPBP 1906, 3rd quarter, item 128BL OC Jav.82
33. Munsyi Muhammad 'Ali HindiPanj Surah - five chapters of the Our'an
with directions in Jawi for reading themArabic and Jawi languagesSingapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 3 September 1906148pp., lithographed, 12.5 x 8.5 cm, in
edition of 8000 copies, priced As.1/6[S$0.05]
CBPBP 1906, 3rd quarter, item 318not ordered for BL
34. Haji Muhammad Salih bin 'Umar SamaraniMinhaj al-Atqia' (An Open Road for the
Devout)Jawi language [sc. Javanese]Singapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 10 September 1906516pp., lithographed, 25 x 16.5 em, in
edition of 1500copies, pricedAs.8 [S$0.29]CBPBP 1906, 3rd quarter, item 126BL OC Jav.66Note: composed by Syaikh Zain ai-Din al-
Malibari: copyist Ahmad Khatib
35. Haji Muhammad Salih bin 'Umar SamaraniJawharal- Tawhid(The Essence of the Unity
of God)Jawi languageSingapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 10 September 1906400pp., lithographed, 25 x 16.5 cm, in
edition of 1500 copies, priced As.7[S$0.25]
CBPBP 1906, 3rd quarter, item 129not ordered for BL
36. Syaikh Salim bin Syaikh Samirat HadhramiSafinat al-Najat- a book treating of salva-
tion with a Jawi translationArabic and Jawi languagesSingapore: Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal (at
Karimi Press, Bombay)issued 10 September 190648pp., lithographed, 22 x 13.5 ern, in edi-
10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17Sulaiman bin Haji Ilyas Jahar Bharao 39Syafi'i, Syaikh Syamsuddin 'Ali 'Abdullah
Muhammad ibn Kassim 26Syamsuddin 'Ali 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn
Kassim Syafi'i, Syaikh 26Yahya, Syaikh Muhammad 18
Appendix IIIPreliminary list of titles
The following list of titles published in Bom-bay is intended only to give an impression ofthe range of books put out by Bombay printersfor the Southeast Asian market. It is basedupon the Bombay quarterly Catalogues, adver-tisements included in Bombay-printed books,and an unsystematic survey of libraries andother sources. It Is by no means comprehen-sive.
Numbers in brackets refer to the excerptsfrom the Bombay Catalogues.
LT [1906] = advertised in Lata'if al-Taharat,1906
MZ [1909] = advertised in Matn al-Zubad 1909SZ [1926) = advertised in Syair Siti Zub~idah,
ing are obscure, owing to difficulties in dat-ing surviving kitab. Otherwise, see C.SnouckHurgronje, Mekka in the Latter Part of the19th Century (Leiden: Brill, 1931), pp.286-287.
2 Constance E. Padwick, Muslim Devotions: aStudy of Prayer-Manuals in Common Use(London: S.P .S.K., 1961), p.xi
3 Virginia Matheson & M.B. Hooker, "Jawi lit-erature in Patani: the maintenance of anIslamic tradition", JMBRAS 61.1 (1988): 1-86.
4 A.K. Priolkar, "Indian Incunabula", pp.129-135 of N.N. Gidwani (ed), Comparative Li-brarianship: Essays in Honour of ProfessorD.N. Marshall (Delhi: Vikas, 1973); andimplicitly K.S. Deshpande, "Towards a Ret-rospective Bibliography of Books in IndianLanguages: Case Study of Kannada Publica-tions", in ibid., pp.162-180.
Perempuan 'Asyik - 1934Raja Handak - 1935, etc.
SyalrAbdul Muluk - SZ [1926], n.d., etc.Bunga Air Mawar - 1874Bunga Akal - n.d.Cincin Hikmat / Nasihat bagi Ugama Islam
1938Yatim Mustafa - 1934Zubaidah - n.d., 1926; 1952, etc.
5 This is somewhat less than the proportion37% of the non-government books adver-tised for sale by Muhammad Siraj inSingapore in 1897. Cf. I. Proudfoot, "ANineteenth-Century Malay Bookseller'sCatalogue", Kekal Abadi 6.4 (1987): 1-11.
6 The other causes he noted were: "(3) thewish in some cases to conceal the names ofworks of a discreditable character; (4) thewant of scholarship in some of the DeputyEducational Inspectors; (5) the newness ofthe whole thing, none of those concernedhaving had experience of the means to beadopted in framing a catalogue of the kindrequired =", Sir A[lexander] Grant, Directorof Public Instruction, Catalogue of NativePublications in the Bombay Presidency up to31st December 1864, prepared under ordersfrom the Government (2nd rev. edn., Bom-bay: EducationSociety's Press, Byculla, 1867),p.6.
7 Grant, Native Publications, pp.7-8.
8 Annotation by K.M. Chatfield, Director ofPublic Instruction, in Catalogue of BooksPrinted in the Bombay Presidency: Supple-mentary Catalogues 1867-1873, 1873.
9 Proceedings of the Legislative Council ofIndia, 1889, vol.28, pp.303-304.
10 Allah Rakhio Butt, "The Nineteenth CenturyBook Trade in Sind" (doctoral thesis, Univer-sity of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1988), p.132 (nosources given). The amending Act was no.Xof 1890, the Press and Registration of BooksAct (1867) Amendment Act.
Musalli (no.3) registered by Syaikh. FazlullahMira; Majmu'at al-Syari'at (no.18) by SyaikhMuhammad Yahya al-Samarani registeredby 'Alibhai Syaraf'ali; and al-Ghazali's Bidayatal-Hidayah (noA8) registered by Isma'il binSyaikh Badal. Why were just these threesingled out for special protection? Cf. Butt,"Book Trade in Sind", p.120. Overall about15-20% of editions registered had claims ofcopyright, but few of these were by Muslimprinters.
13 Butt, "Book Trade in Sind", p.119. He addsthat piracy was a rare event. It is impossibleto square such a statement with the knowndata. The same title was often printed by aplurality of publishers. Without knowledgeof transfer of copyright, or even any groundsfor believing that copyright was applicable atall, it is not possible to speak in terms ofpiracy or lack of piracy.
14 Padwick, Muslim Devotions, p.xii.15 Deshpande, "Retrospective Bibliography",p.171.16 See also Annabel Teh Gallop, "Early Malay
Printing: an Introduction to the British Li-brary Collection", JMBRAS63.1 (1990), p.114,n.30. The practice here differs from thatfollowed in the Malayan colonies. In the caseof Malaya and the Straits Settlements, solittle was published that all was sent back toLondon.
17 K.M. Govi, "The Genesis and Growtti of In-dia's National Bibliography", Ubri27.2 (1977),p.168.
P.167.20 Gallop, "Early Malay Printing", pp.103-104.21 The lists are in Lata'if et- Taharat published
by Isma'il bin Syaikh Badal in 1906 at the
Karimi Press (no.28 in the list of registerededitions below); and in Matn al-Zubad pub-lished by 'Alibhai Syaraf'ali in 1909 at theMuhammadi Press (not registered). Theyare headed "Fihrist kutub jawi matbu'ah Matba'Karimi Bombai" (Le. List of jawi books printedat the Karimi Press, Bombay"; and "Fihristkutub jawi matbu'ah Matba' Muhammadiatal-Islamiat Bombai" (List of jawi books printedat Muhammadiah Muslim Press, Bombay)respectively.
22 In Syair Siti Zubaidah, published by 'Alibhaiwa Syaraf'ali at Matba'at al-Muhammadiyahal-Islamiyah. The list of titles available isheaded: "Fihrist kutub Jawa wa Malayumaujudah dukkan 'Alibhai wa Syaraf'alitajiran al-kutub wa malikan Matba' Muham-madi" (i.e. List of Javanese and Malay booksin stock [at] the shop of 'Alibhai Syaraf'ali,book traders and owners [of] the MuslimPress).
23 William Theobald (ed.), The Legislative Actsof the Governor General of India in Councilfrom 1834 to the end of 1867 ... (Calcutta:Thacker, Spink, 1868), vol. 1 (1834-1851),pp.617-627.
24 Hikeyet Alf Lailah wa Lailah (Singapore: [Tho-mas Trusty,] 1878-79); Hikayat Si Miskin(Singapore: Thomas Trusty, 1886); Muhammad'Ali bin Ghulam Husain ai-Hindi, Hikayat PuteriGul Bakawali (Singapore: Makhdum Sahibbin Ghulam Muhyiddin Sahib at DenodayaPress, 1880); Bahauddin bin Muhammad al-Syami, Kitab Saif Allah (Singapore: MatbaahHaji Muhammad Amin, 1900). Hikayat Sul-tan Bustamam (Penang: Haji Putih Sya'ia,1895), referring however to Act no. XI of1835. It is significant that Makhdum Sahiband Haji Putih are both of Indian extraction.
25 See also P.K. Sen, The Press, Publicationsand Copyright Laws of India (Calcutta: Sarkar,1958), pp.t , 81,132.
(Gazette of India 1868 pt.l, p.374). Also ex-empted were items such as catalogues, playbills, almanacs and calendars, and othernon-literary forms of printing: Notificationno.5604 dated 21 December 1871 (Gazetteof India pt.l, p.979).
--------------------------------~~
31 In the 1867 Act, this exemption is a blanketone. After the 1890 amendments, it appliedonly to works whose first edition had previ-ously been deposited under the terms of theAct.
32 Notifications under the Act at first providedfor exemption of reprints (which was notnecessary for they were already exempt inthe same words in the Act) and later pur-ported to revoke this exemption. See Notifi-cation no.5604 dated 21 December 1871(Gazette of India 1871, pt.l p.979) at item 1;and Notification no.3276 dated 16 August1872 (Gazette of India 1872, pt.1p.777). Thewording of the Act refers not to the text of abook, but to its 'letterpress' (sec.IX).
33 The Singapore and Malaysian laws are fullydescribed in Lim U Wen, "A PreliminarySurvey of a Retrospective National Bibliog-raphy for Malaya and Sin~apor~ up to.194~",thesis. Diploma in uoranansbto, Universityof London, 1965, pp.15-33. Also I. Proudfoot,"Pre-War Malay Periodicals", Kekal Abadi4.4 (1985): 1-3; "A Formative Period inMalay Publishing", JMBRAS 59.2 (1986),pp.1 02-1 03.
34 The British Act was 1 & 2 Geo V ch.46. Forthe Indian Act, see Government of India,Unrepealed General Acts of the GovernorGeneral in Council (4th edn., Calcutta: Supt.of Govt. Printing), p.34.
35 Gallop, "Early Malay Printing", p.117, givesa list of the Malay-language publications ofthe Alawi and Hasani Presses held in theBritish Library.
36 While the two languages were jointly used asthe vernacular intellectual media of South-east Asian Islam, they were usually distin-guished in Southeast Asia. An exception isSyair Imbal Unggas (Singapore: HajiMuhammadSaid bin Haji Muhammad Arsyad, n.d. [1893]).
37 So also later a book glossed "Primer of Urduand Jawi language intended for beginners"listed under the heading for "Urdu and Javi"has as its title, in Arabic script, Urdu 'AraboTamil Qa'edah, indicating that Tamil, notMalay or Javanese is signified. It has never-theless been included among the Gazetteregistrations below as no.50.
38 Butt's investigations of Sindi publishing foundthat in fact reported prices before 1890 wereoften grossly understated. He attributes thisto the inexperience of early Sind printers, afactor which would not apply to the jobbingprinters of Bombay city who had to be expertin estimating costs and returns: Butt, "BookTrade in Sind", p.117. Butt also notes thatbooks sold on credit were sold at a premiumof, say, 15% (pp.163-164) while it was thepractice of booksellers to offer substantialdiscounts for bulk orders. Advertisementsregularly offered 10% - 15% to casual retailbuyers (p.118); presumably much more sub-stantial discounts were given to agents.
39 Calculating the rupee/dollar exchange ratefrom data supplied in Jawi Peranakkan andin M.D. Joshi, "Currency", pp.381-399, inV.B. Singh, Economic Historyoflndia: 1857-1956 (Bombay: Allied, 1965); with C.W.Darbishire, "The Commerce of Singapore",ch. XIII of Walter Makepeace et aI., OneHundred Years of Singapore, volume 2 (Lon-don: Murray, 1921), and Li Dun Jen, BritishMalaya. An economic analysis (2nd edition,Kuala Lumpur: INSAN, 1982).
a photographic reproduction of the title-pageof this work.
44 "Allybhoy Sharatally"45 "Alibhai Sharafally"46 "Allybhai Sharafally"47 "Fruknon"48 "Faslatan"49 The title page of the book gives the print run
as 3500.50 "Ha'zi Mahomed Onley bin Oomer Samarani"51 "Shaikh Ismail bin Buddeh"52 "Shaikh Ismail bin Buddeh"53 "Shaikh Ismail bin Shaikh Budul"54 "Faro Konan"55 "Jarnahlro Malay"56 "Faqir M. Haji Jelani"57 "Faqir M. Haji Jehani"58 "Rahiman"59 "A'anath"
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