First edition, illustrated with 21 steel portraits of women from American society. Gift inscription on the title page.
Contemporary publisher's full black shagreen binding. Spine with raised bands, 5 decorated compartments, roulette at head and tail. Central blind medallion on boards surrounded by rich ornamental frame with foliage and flowers. Wide interior border. Rubbing to upper joint at tail, very narrow split in leather to lower joint at tail along 3 compartments. Gilt edges. Traces of rubbing. Perfectly fresh copy, with tissue guards, printed on tinted laid paper.
History of the United States after the War of Independence under Washington's governance. The title presents an ironic aspect by referring to monarchy when it was a matter for the first elected president of elaborating a constitution and a new society. The majority of the book is devoted to Washington's presidency, first in New York, then in Philadelphia.
Rufus Griswold (1815-1857) was a famous American critic and journalist who reigned over the world of letters, he remained famous for his conflict with Edgar Allan Poe.