Alexander Ireland (1809-1894) came to Manchester in 1843 and became managing partner of the Manchester Examiner. He had previously lived in Edinburgh and while there had formed friendships with many of the leading British writers of the day - William Hazlitt, James Leigh Hunt, Thomas Carlyle, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles and Mary Lamb. Coverage of authors varies but contains many first editions of their works and other rare material. The Ralph Waldo Emerson collection was microfilmed by Microform Academic Publishers Ltd. A good introduction to the Emerson collection is available online: https://microform.digital/map/guides/R97571.pdf.