I get the book's answer.
I use the mnemonic:
East is least and West is best, going from True to Magnetic.
So. If you give declination a sign as above, E is negative, W is positive, you get:
True + Declination = Magnetic
1880: True = Magnetic - Declination (but D is negative), so True > Magnetic.
True is the constant between 1880 and the Present, so...
Present: Magnetic = True + Declination, but D is still negative,
so True > Magnetic is still correct.
I got 271° 45’.
If you look at Sheet 1 of Patent 526021, you can see one of the "quadrant" dials that use the N (angle) W, and S (angle) W convention. Zero is at North and South, and East and West are both 90.
https://www.google.com/patents/US526021
Finally, I may be wrong here. I'm as confused about declination as anyone, but the book solution makes sense to me.