----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Not everything at USGS is as "gloom and doom" as some may think. There is
indeed a 'Reference Collection and Historical Map Archives. According to a
description I have it "... includes maps from the 1880's to date and is
divided into three chronological segments: 1880's-1933; 1934-1984; and 1985
to date." Furthermore, "... the early years of the map archives may not be comp
lete. In more recent years, however, the archives contain at least one copy of
each NMD topographic map published or reprinted."
 
The contact person is Ms. Mary E. Graziani (703) 648-4556. Address is NMD
Historical Map Archives, USGS National Center, Room 2B123, Mail Stop 522,
Reston, VA 22092. They also have computer-based indexes of the 1880's-1933 and
the 1985 to date segments.
 
David A. Cobb
Harvard Map Collection