Overview
The C.M.S. Press (Church Mission Society Press) at Kottayam is widely regarded as the first printing press established in Kerala. Founded in the early nineteenth century by Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, it played a pioneering role in the development of Malayalam printing, the production of religious and educational literature, and the wider intellectual modernisation of Travancore.
Key Facts
| Name | C.M.S. Press |
|---|---|
| Type | Printing press |
| Location | Kottayam, Kerala, India |
| Founder | Rev. Benjamin Bailey, Church Missionary Society |
| Significance | First printing press in Kerala |
| Affiliation | Church Missionary Society (Anglican) |
Background
The Church Missionary Society, an Anglican missionary organisation founded in London in 1799, began its work in Travancore in the early 1800s in cooperation with the Malankara Syrian Christian community. Kottayam, a centre of Syrian Christianity, became the focal point of the mission's educational and literary activities. The need to produce scriptures, school texts, and dictionaries in Malayalam led the missionaries to establish a press locally rather than rely on facilities in Bombay or Madras.
Foundation and Early Work
The press was established by Rev. Benjamin Bailey, who arrived in Kottayam in 1816. Bailey is credited with designing and casting the first set of modern Malayalam types suitable for printing, replacing the earlier blockier forms used in experimental printing elsewhere. His refined typefaces gave the printed Malayalam script much of its present visual character.
From the press emerged a series of foundational works in Malayalam, including translations of the Bible, the first Malayalam–English and English–Malayalam dictionaries compiled by Bailey, school primers, and grammars. These publications were widely used in the schools run by the C.M.S. mission and in the Syrian Christian seminary at Kottayam.
Timeline
- 1816: Benjamin Bailey arrives at Kottayam as a C.M.S. missionary.
- Early 1820s: The press is established at Kottayam; printing begins with newly cast Malayalam types.
- 1829: Publication of Bailey's Malayalam translation of the New Testament from the original languages.
- 1841 & 1846: Publication of Bailey's Malayalam–English and English–Malayalam dictionaries.
- Later 19th century: The press continues as the principal publishing arm of the C.M.S. mission in Travancore, producing textbooks, periodicals, and religious literature.
Significance
The C.M.S. Press is significant for several reasons:
- It introduced movable-type printing in Malayalam at a quality and scale not seen earlier in Kerala.
- It produced standardised Malayalam typefaces that influenced subsequent printing across the region.
- It supported the spread of formal education in Travancore by supplying textbooks for mission and government schools.
- It contributed to the standardisation of literary Malayalam through its grammars, dictionaries, and biblical translations.
- It served as a model for later presses established by other missionary societies and Indian entrepreneurs in Kerala.
Legacy
The press remains associated with the C.M.S. institutions in Kottayam, including CMS College Kottayam, the oldest college in Kerala, which grew out of the same missionary educational effort. Bailey's typographic and lexicographic work is regarded as foundational to modern Malayalam print culture, and Kottayam's later emergence as a major publishing centre in Kerala is often traced back to the activities of the C.M.S. Press.
Related Topics
- Benjamin Bailey
- Church Missionary Society
- CMS College Kottayam
- Malayalam language
- Kottayam
- Printing in India
- Travancore
- Malankara Church
References
- Wikidata entry: Q5006170 — C.M.S. Press.
- Histories of the Church Missionary Society's Travancore mission.
- Studies on the development of Malayalam printing and typography.