19th century book

[Valerie J Roebuck]

I would be grateful for information about a copy of the Tulsi 
Ramayana that was shown to me yesterday.  It is a book of Western 
type, nicely bound with what the owner, a bookbinder, recognizes as a 
typical Indian binding.  The spine has RAMAYANA in gold lettering in 
Roman script.  The paper is heavy, and watermarked MCE 1830.  The 
text is in a Devanagari script so small and neat that the owner is 
convinced that it must be printed.  I am almost equally convinced 
that it is handwritten.

Is anyone familiar with books of this type?  For that matter, when 
was the first printed edition of this work produced?

If it would be helpful, I will try to take a photograph.

Valerie J Roebuck
Manchester, UK