Polk Co. IAGenWeb

INTRODUCTION.

In presenting our publication to the public we wish to express our appreciation of the hearty support which the people of Des Moines have given us in a material way, and also by words of commendation and encouragement expressed. We are especially indebted to the artists and engravers of the city for the many favors shown us, as they have done all in their power to assist us in making our work a success, and we believe the quality of the work will bear us out in the statement that Des Moines is unusually favored in this respect.

While we are conscious of many defects and imperfections in the volume, we might if we had the benefit of our own criticism on the work, improve it in many respects, but we trust that the work as a whole will be sufficiently commendable so that such inaccuracies as exist will be over-looked, and due credit given us for the effort we have made to present to the public a volume which illustrates and describes the leading features of the Capital City of Iowa.

A few words concerning the arrangement of the engravings may not be out of place in this connection. Since Des Moines is the Capital of the State and since its progress and advancement is due, in some measure to that fact, we thought it advisable to give the illustrations of the Capitol building the first place in the book. The rest of the view's are arranged principally for convenience, although we have tried as far as practical to give the public buildings and institutions more prominence than others.

Coordinator's Note: This book has no Table of Contents, no Index, and no page numbers.
Below is a list I've created of the page headings. These are clickable links which will take you to the page with that header. I've also added a "Title Page," "previous" and "next" links in the footer at the bottom of each page, so you can move through this work page by page, or back to the beginning at any time.