Hobson joined Sotheby's in 1947 to work in the book department. From 1949 to 1971, he was head of the department and was also a director at Sotheby's. He worked closely with
John Carter overseeing major sales such as the
Dyson Perrins collection of medieval manuscripts during 1958–1960 and the Phillipps Collections in 1965. Hobson held
The Sandars Readership in Bibliography in 1974–1975 and lectured on "Some book collectors, booksellers and binders in sixteenth century Italy." He was the
Lyell Lecturer in Bibliography at the
University of Oxford in 1990–1991 lecturing on "Two Renaissance Book-Collectors:
Jean Grolier and
Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Their Libraries and Bookbindings." He was the
Rosenbach Lecturer at the
University of Pennsylvania in 1990 on the topic, "The Bibliomania: English Book Collecting in the Early Nineteenth Century." Hobson was a member of the
Roxburghe Club from 1982 until his death. He was president of the
Bibliographical Society from 1977 to 1979 and received the Gold Medal in 1992. He served as president of the
Association Internationale de Bibliophilie from 1985 to 1999. In 1994
Bookbindings & Other Bibliophily : Essays in Honour of Anthony Hobson. was published to honor his achievements. In 2011 on his 90th birthday “A Garland for Mr. Hobson: Anthony Hobson at 90” was published in
The Book Collector. He was elected
Cavaliere of the
Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy. Anthony Hobson died on 12 July 2014. == Selected publications ==