Vandermaelen was the son of a wealthy industrialist who abandoned his father's business to follow a career in cartography. His goal was to produce the first atlas ever published in which every map was drawn on the same projection and to the same scale (1: 1,641,836), with each map covering an area of approximately 20 degrees of longitude (from Paris) and 6 degrees of latitude. Because of the consistent scale and projection, the maps could be joined together to form a huge globe that would measure over 25 feet in diameter. Vandermaelen had the only known globe constructed from his maps, requiring a special room for its display. It was also the first lithographic atlas ever published. There was one edition of the atlas, published in 1825-27, and the subscription list shows that only 810 copies were sold. Koeman called his Atlas Universel, "One of the most remarkable world atlases ever made. Far ahead of its time."

This index sheet covers almost all of the present-day United States, Mexico, Central America, and the northern third of South America. It was issued in the North America atlas volume (4th of 6 volumes) to presumably show how the maps from this volume could be joined to the maps in the South America volume (5th of 6 volumes) to present a large map of the Western Hemisphere. In North America, Mexico is in control of Texas, California and the Southwest, while Oregon Territory extends to the Continental Divide. Arkansas Territory is in its large configuration, and the Northwest Territory includes present-day Wisconsin and Minnesota. Included with the map is the title page from the South America volume.

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Condition: B+

Original color with a few faint spots. The included title page has moderate scattered foxing.