This collection includes an extensive series of poetry notebooks and a large sequence of letters from publishers, friends, writers and poets. Much of the correspondence in this collection reflects the high esteem in which Simpson was held by fellow authors, who often seek his comments on their own works.

There are appointment diaires which reflect his working practices at different times in his life and a small amount of genealogical material, personal photographs and other ephemera.

The records comprise the work and personal papers of Peter Corbett. The material has been arranged into four main sections:

• Artistic Productions D1040/1
• Typescripts D1040/2
• Personal Papers D1040/3
• Printed Material and Ephemera D1040/4

Associated Material

The Aston collection at the University of Liverpool form only a small part of the papers of the Aston family. A full list of the other holdings of the papers of the Aston family of Aston Hall can be found on the National Register of Archives. Links are provided below to the catalogue entries for the Aston papers held by

• The British Library
• John Rylands University Library Special Collections
• Cheshire Record Office
• Liverpool Record Office

Bibliography

George Ormerod: The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Volume I, 2nd edition, revised and enlarged by Thomas Helsby (George Routledge, London, 1882). Pages 531-537 are Ormerod's account of the Aston family from the reign of Henry II up to the time of Sir Willoughby Aston, 2nd Baronet, with an added family tree which follows the family up to Sir Arthur Ingram Aston.

George Edward Cockayne: Complete Baronetage, Volume II, 1625-1649, (William Pollard & co., Exeter, 1902). Pages 48-49 list the grantee and successors to the title of Baronet Aston in the reign of Charles I.

The Cheshire Sheaf, 3rd series, vol 24, (Chester, 1927). Contains a description of the biographical diaries of Sir Willoughby Aston with some biographical notes.

The Moor autograph collection is largely comprised of autographed letters, but also includes passports, invitations, book orders, and a sermon. The collection was presented to the University by Professor Sir Henry Cohen in 1954, and is part of the autograph collection formed by Canon Allen Page Moor (bap. 1824-1904). The letters in the collection originate mainly from men of the church and individuals from the fields of Orientalism, Indology, and Philology.

Canon Moor's ecclesiastical career accounts for many of the letters. Many being from leading figures in the church, addressed to him or letters obtained through clerical friends. Correspondents include, John Erskine Clarke, Honorary Chaplain to Queen Victoria and Charles Thomas Longley, archbishop of Canterbury. The large number of letters from orientalists addressed to Dr Reinhold Rost (1822-1896), secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society and librarian of the India Office, are accounted for by the appointment as oriental lecturer at St Augustine's College which Rost held from 1851 until his death.

Other letters have been collected by Moor through his family connections. There are numerous letters within the collection addressed to Moor's father-in-law, the Reverend Cecil Wray, perpetual curate of St Martin's, Liverpool, 1836-1875. In addition, Moor's cousin William Page Wood (1801-1881), was an eminent lawyer and Liberal MP for Oxford. He became a Chancery judge in 1853, before being appointed Lord Chancellor in 1868, and created Baron Hatherley. Letters from this connection include, the British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. As the letters from Mrs Burney and F. Naylor indicate, Canon Moor not only acquired his specimens through friends and family members, but also by exchange, purchase and gift.