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1 of 253523 objects
William Marsden (1754-1836)
The History of Sumatra / William Marsden c.1810
59.0 x 1.5 cm (book measurement (inventory)) | RCIN 1083507
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In 1770, the sixteen-year-old William Marsden travelled from Dublin to Bengkulu, Sumatra to join his brother as a writer for the East India Company at Fort Marlborough. Quickly rising to become secretary of the Company government in Sumatra in 1774, from 1778 Marsden was inspired after reading journals of Captain Cook’s voyages to return to London to attend scientific and learned meetings. He resigned his post in April 1779 and arrived in Britain on Christmas Eve, 24 December. On 1 March 1780, he was introduced to Sir Joseph Banks at his home in Soho Square where he also made the acquaintance of some other significant scientists of the day including Daniel Solander, the Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne and William Herschel. He soon attended Royal Society meetings and became a regular attendee at Banks’s famous breakfast discussions.
Inspired by this experience, in 1783, he published his History of Sumatra. This volume contains some of the plates from the work. The History was based on his journals kept at Fort Marlborough and from information gained from the local Rejang people. It gave an extended discussion of the area’s natural history, geography and local languages and established Marsden’s scholarly reputation. A second edition followed later in the year, with a third following in 1784 and reprinted regularly. He also published a dictionary of the Malay language (1812) and a two-volume study of South- and Southeast-Asian coins based on the coins in his own collection (1823-5) among other signifiant works. -
Creator(s)
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Measurements
59.0 x 1.5 cm (book measurement (inventory))
