Notebooks on the Malay Peninsula by Dr Charles Otto Blagden

This material is held atSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Archives, University of London

  • Reference
    • GB 102 MS 381320
  • Former Reference
    • GB 102 MS 297483 [Box 3] (part of); MS 297493; MS 297494; MS 297495; MS 297496; MS 297497; MS 297498
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1892-1895
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
    • English Malay (macrolanguage) Multiple languages
  • Physical Description
    • 2 boxes

Scope and Content

Six bound notebooks (Book I-Book IV) and one folder of loose papers,containing manuscript notes by Dr Charles Otto Blagden on the linguistics, customs, genealogies, and geography of the Malay Peninsula.

Administrative / Biographical History

Dr Charles Otto Blagden was born the 30th September 1864, the eldest son of William George Blagden. He was educated at Dulwich College and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was appointed to the Straits Settlements Civil Service in 1888 and held various administrative and judicial posts in Malacca and Singapore. He retired for health reasons in 1897. Returning to England he studied at Gray?s Inn and was called to the Bar in 1900. From 1910 he developed an academic career becoming Examiner in Malay at the University of London in that year. In 1917 he joined the newly-opened School of Oriental and African Studies as Lecturer in Malay Studies. He remained in the service of the School until 1935 when he retired as Reader in Malay Studies. At various dates he was a Vice-President of the Royal Anthropological Society and of the Royal Asiatic Society. His most important published work was (with W.W.Skeat) the comparative vocabulary of aboriginal races in Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula which appeared in 1906. Blagden also interested himself in Burmese studies especially Mon inscriptions. He died 25th August 1949.

Arrangement

Chronological

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Transferred to SOAS Library from the South East Asian Department, School of Oriental and African Studies, November 1973

Archivist's Note

Description based on an entry from 'Indonesian Manuscripts in Great Britain: A Catalogue of Manuscripts in Indonesian languages in British Public Collections' by M.C. Ricklefs, P. Voorhoeve and Annabel Teh Gallop Jakarta Ecole francaise d'Extreeme-Orient, 2014. Reproduced with permission.

Catalogued

Custodial History

Book I was previously held first as MS 297493 and later as (part of) MS 297483 [Box 3]; Books II-VI were previously held as MS 29794-MS 297498. The six notebooks by Dr Charles Otto Blagden comprising MS 381320 were reunited as a single collection (MS 381320) in August 2017.

Related Material

MS 297483 - Manuscripts of Dr Charles Otto Blagden

MS 360895 - Correspondence of Dr Charles Otto Blagden