Christopher Selby Austin DobsonCBE (25 August 1916 – 22 December 2005) was an English librarian who was the librarian of the House of Lords Library from 1956 to 1977.[1]
Early life and educationedit
Dobson was born in 1916 in Isleworth to Alban Tabor Austin Dobson (1885–1962), a civil servant, and Katharine Jean Selby Dobson.[2] His father managed the literary estate of his own father, the poet and essayist Austin Dobson.[1][3]
Under Clay's guidance, Dobson compiled an edition of the Oxfordshire Protestation Returns 1641–1642, published in 1955, and organised the legal collections. However, Dobson lacked passion for statistics and historical research, far preferring the literary world.[1]
Following Clay's retirement in 1956, Dobson succeeded him and maintained the library largely as his predecessors had, with the library acquiring about 250 titles per year. At this time, there was little impetus for modernisation of library standards. Dobson's main interest was in the acquisition of rare and historical volumes, and grew the library's collection of works from the reigns of Henry VIII through William and Mary.[1]
In 1960, he and Earl Spencer edited Letters of David Garrick and Georgiana Countess Spencer, 1759–1779.
A bespectacled figure, with an air of gentle inquiry, Dobson always maintained the tradition that the Librarian should sit at a desk in the library rather than retreat to the office provided for his use. He was an old-fashioned bibliophile, and a number of books in the library contain his inscriptions explaining why and where he bought the work and for how much. He had a genuine kindness and was much liked by all who knew him — members and colleagues alike.
He retired in 1977 as the need for drastic change became apparent, owing to technology advances and the growing numbers of life peers who had larger research demands than their hereditary counterparts. He was succeeded by Roger Morgan, who saw the library through a period of modern transformation of increasing digitisation, from 1977 to 1991.[1]
In 1964, he became a member of the Roxburghe Club for bibliophiles.[4] He had a considerable private collection of books and was an enthusiast of Victorian bindings.[1]
christopher, dobson, librarian, christopher, selby, austin, dobson, august, 1916, december, 2005, english, librarian, librarian, house, lords, library, from, 1956, 1977, early, life, education, editdobson, born, 1916, isleworth, alban, tabor, austin, dobson, 1. Christopher Selby Austin Dobson CBE 25 August 1916 22 December 2005 was an English librarian who was the librarian of the House of Lords Library from 1956 to 1977 1 Early life and education editDobson was born in 1916 in Isleworth to Alban Tabor Austin Dobson 1885 1962 a civil servant and Katharine Jean Selby Dobson 2 His father managed the literary estate of his own father the poet and essayist Austin Dobson 1 3 Dobson grew up in Ealing He was educated at Clifton College in Bristol and Emmanuel College Cambridge 1 During the Second World War he served in The Middlesex Regiment and was mentioned in dispatches rising to the rank of lieutenant 1 Career editIn 1947 Dobson became assistant to House of Lords Library librarian Charles Travis Clay who had been in the post since 1914 Under Clay s guidance Dobson compiled an edition of the Oxfordshire Protestation Returns 1641 1642 published in 1955 and organised the legal collections However Dobson lacked passion for statistics and historical research far preferring the literary world 1 Following Clay s retirement in 1956 Dobson succeeded him and maintained the library largely as his predecessors had with the library acquiring about 250 titles per year At this time there was little impetus for modernisation of library standards Dobson s main interest was in the acquisition of rare and historical volumes and grew the library s collection of works from the reigns of Henry VIII through William and Mary 1 In 1960 he and Earl Spencer edited Letters of David Garrick and Georgiana Countess Spencer 1759 1779 He was described in The Times as A bespectacled figure with an air of gentle inquiry Dobson always maintained the tradition that the Librarian should sit at a desk in the library rather than retreat to the office provided for his use He was an old fashioned bibliophile and a number of books in the library contain his inscriptions explaining why and where he bought the work and for how much He had a genuine kindness and was much liked by all who knew him members and colleagues alike The Times 2006 1 He retired in 1977 as the need for drastic change became apparent owing to technology advances and the growing numbers of life peers who had larger research demands than their hereditary counterparts He was succeeded by Roger Morgan who saw the library through a period of modern transformation of increasing digitisation from 1977 to 1991 1 In 1964 he became a member of the Roxburghe Club for bibliophiles 4 He had a considerable private collection of books and was an enthusiast of Victorian bindings 1 Dobson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE in the 1976 New Year Honours 5 In 1941 he married Helen Broughton Turner and had a son and a daughter He died in December 2005 in Cambridge Cambridgeshire References edit a b c d e f g h i Christopher Dobson The Times 13 January 2006 Retrieved 15 February 2019 London England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 1917 Austin Dobson Collection Senate House Library Retrieved 15 February 2019 The Roxburghe Club The oldest society of bibliophiles in the world roxburgheclub Retrieved 15 February 2019 No 46777 The London Gazette Supplement 30 December 1975 p 8 Government offices Preceded byCharles Travis Clay House of Lords Librarian1956 1977 Succeeded byRoger Morgan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Christopher Dobson librarian amp oldid 1076085223, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
