In 1738 he was appointed literary secretary to the Earl of Oxford, with a salary of 200l., and, during his brief tenure ‘of this office he frequently met George Vertue Alexander Pope, and others. At the death of the earl in 1741 he received about-quarters of a year's salary, on which he lived as long as it lasted, and for the next fourteen years earned his bread by literary drudgery for the booksellers. In 1742 Thomas Osborne [q. v.] the bookseller purchased for 13,000l. the collection of printed books, consisting of 20,748 volumes, that had belonged to the Earl of Oxford, and intending to dispose of them by sale, projected an elaborate classified classified and descriptive catalogue. The editors selected by Osborne were Dr. Johnson and Oldys, who worked together at the task for several years. While the catalogue was progressing Osborne issued proposals or printing by subscription ‘The Harleian Miscellany; a Collection of scarce curious, and entertaining Tracts and Pamphlets found in the late Earl of 0xford's Library, interspersed with historical, political, an critical Notes.' Johnson supplied the ‘Proposals' or ‘An Account of this Undertaking,’ as
well as the preface to this work (8 vols. 1744-6, 4to), while Oldys selected ad edited the phamplets. Oldys also drew up and annotated 'A Copious and Exact Catalogue of Pamphets in the Harleian Library,' 4to which is a choice specimen of ‘recreative bibliography.' This was issued in fragments with the ‘Harleian Miscellany,' and also in a separate form. It was reprinted by Park in the last edition of the ‘Harleian Miscellany' (x. 357-471). A new edition of ‘Health's Improvement,' by Thomas Moffett [q.v.], appeared in 1746, with a memoir of the author by Oldys, whose connection with Osborne then terminated. The editorship of Michael Drayton ‘Works,’ 1748 has been attributed to him, but he only furnished the ‘Historical Essay’ to that edition and to the one of 1753.
Between 1747 and 1760 Oldys contributed to the first edition of the ‘Biographia Britannica' twenty-two exhaustive artices. A tabular description of his labours on this important work is given Bolton Corney, who says: ‘It may be safely asserted that no one of the contributors to the “Biographia Britannica" has produced a richer proportion of inedited facts than William Oldye; and he seems to have consulted every species of the more accessible authorities, from the “Fœdera" of Rymer to the inscription on a print. His united articles, set up as the text of Chalmers, would occupy about a thousand octavo pages' (Curiosities of Literature Illustrated, ed. 1838, p. 177). In 1778, when Dr. Kippis undertook the editorship of the second edition of the ‘Biographia Britannica,’ he secured a portion of Oldys's manuscript biographical collections, which were quoted in the articles ‘Arabella Stuart,' ‘John Barclay,' ‘Mary Beale,’ ‘W. Browne,' and 'Samuel Butler.'
From 1751 to 1753 Oldys was involved in pecuniary difficulties, and, being unable to discharge the rent due for his chambers in Gray's Inn, he was compelled to remove to the Fleet prison. In 1753 he, in conjunction with John Taylor the oculist, published ‘Observations on the Cure of William Taylor, the Blind Boy of Ightham in Kent.’ Oldys remained in confinement till Mr. Southwell of Cockermouth (brother of the second Lord Southwell) and other friends procured his release (Gent. Mag. 1784, pt. i. p. 260). John Taylor, however, states that it was the Duke of Norfolk who paid his debts and thus obtained his liberty. Soon afterwards the duke procured for him the situation of Norroy king-of-arms, He was created Norfolk herald-extraordinary at the College of Arms by the Earl of Ellingham, deputy earl-marshal, on 15 April 1755, to quality him for the allies of Norroy, to which he was appointed by patent on 5 May following (Noble, (College of Arms, pp. 386, 419). Oldys appointed as his deputy Edward Orme of Chester, the compiler of pedigrees for Cheshire families. ‘The heralds,’ says Noble, ‘had reason to be displeased with Oldys's promotion to a provincial kingship. The College, however, will always be pleased with ranking so good a writer among their body.’ Francis Grose, Richmond herald, asserts that Oldys was accustomed to indulge ‘in deep potations in ale,' and was so intoxicated at the funeral of the Princess Caroline that he reeled about while carrying the coronet on a cushion. In refutation of this story Noble pointed out that the crown, when borne at the funeral of a king or queen, or the coronet at the burial of a prince or princess, is always carried by Clarenceux, and not by Norroy. In a contemporary account of the funeral of the Princess Caroline, however, it is distinctly stated that the body was preceded by ‘Norroy, king-of-arms, carrying the crown on a black velvet cushion’ (Gent. Mag. 1737, p. 765; Notes and Queries, 2nd ser. iii. 514).
Oldys was connected with the College of Arms for nearly five years. His library was the large room up one flight of stairs in Norroy's apartments, in the west wing of the college. His notes were written on slips of paper, which he afterwards classified and
