“This pocket-sized book provides statistical and geographical information about Wisconsin in the 1850s, including topographical descriptions, a listing of natural resources, educational data, a discussion of available lands and instructions for filing land claims, information about un-surveyed lands, census figures, the economic activities of each county, and transportation routes. Advertisements from publishers, retailers, and members of the professions appear in the back pages.”
– Library of Congress American Memory website

The author wrote in the preface that the handbook was intended to be used with the map of Wisconsin that he published.