Cecil Bernard Oldman, CB, CVO, FSA (2 April 1894 – 7 October 1969), published as C. B. Oldman, was an English bibliographer who was Principal Keeper of Printed Books at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

from 1948 to 1959.

Career

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 2 April 1894, Cecil Bernard Oldman was the son of a builder and contractor, Frederick James Oldman, and his wife Agnes Barnes Nightingale. He attended the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

. Oldman joined the Printed Books Department at the

in 1920. In 1943, he was appointed the Department's Deputy Keeper and three years later became Keeper, before serving as Principal Keeper from 1948 to 1959. He was also President of the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

in 1954. Oldman was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

, and was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1953 and a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

five years later. He received honorary degrees from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

universities in 1956 and 1959 respectively."Oldman, Cecil Bernard (1894–1969)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, September 2004). Retrieved 4 April 2018."Oldman, Cecil Bernard"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, December 2007). Retrieved 4 April 2018. Oldman published a number of articles and books about the composer Amadeus Mozart. He died on 7 October 1969, leaving a widow, Sigrid, who was a daughter of Vice-Admiral Adolf Sobieczky and Adele, Baroness Potier des Echelles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldman, C 1894 births 1969 deaths English bibliographers Librarians from London Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford