The Nation: its Rulers and Institutions; or, Outlines of the Government

Octavo in royal blue blindstamped cloth with oval gilt portrait of George Washington front board, spine lettered in gilt. Very good, all gilt clear. Third printing, with the "Special To The Reader" introduction dated 1871. Striking engraving of an American Eagle hovering over the upper part of a globe with ":The Nation"; tissue guard. 510 pp. with single sided page at rear advertising railways for "Tourists and Pleasure Seekers going to the Great Northwest."via the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, the St. Louis, St. Paul & Minneapolis", etc. along with the notice "All East and West Lines in the State [presumably Minnesota] fully equipped with Westinghouse Air Brakes and Miller Couplings". Illustrated with full page engraving of the U.S. Capitol, full page images of the U.S Presidents from Washington to Grant; the heading of the section for each of the states is an engraving of the state seal. Opening sections deal with the president, the Constitution, the court system, cabinet positions, Congress, the postal system, elections, foreign affairs, etc. Following the states section are various informational chapters on population, territories, U.S wars, rules of the House of Representatives, a chronology. The author, Anson Willis, had been a federal district court judge in New York. …