They did a nice job of reporting what that process
is all about.  One thing I didn't understand was
paragraph 2 in the answer below.  What does
"There are no engravings for such maps." mean?  Does
it mean that most of the 1:24,000-scale and many of
the 1:62,500-scale engravings no longer exist?  It
sounds like most of the engravings are already
disposed of.

I read most of that stuff and see that the 1st
release consists of about 100 sets.  The 2nd
release will be bigger, but number is unspecified.
There may be no 3rd release.

Boy, those things sure are heavy.



Q:
"I'd like the engravings for the 1:24,000-scale USGS topographic map of 
[my favorite place]" or "I'd like the engravings for the map that shows 
[my favorite feature]" ...

A:
The period during which engravings were used for map reproduction 
started in the 1880s, ramped down during the 1940s, and ceased in the 
early 1950s.

USGS compiled nearly all the 1:24,000-scale, and many of the 
1:62,500-scale, topographic maps after the use of engravings ceased. 
There are no engravings for such maps.

Some people are surprised to learn that an engraving does not show a 
feature that "has been around forever." While the feature may have 
existed for a long time, the engravings that map the geographic area 
might have existed for a longer time. The engravings do not show 
features or the results of events that occurred after an area was mapped 
and the engravings were made. The engravings can predate the 
construction, admission (in the case of some States), declaration (in 
the case of national parks, monuments, forests, and the like), or naming 
of features. For example, some engravings identify the area mapped as 
being within the Indian Territory because the State of Oklahoma had not 
yet been organized and admitted to the Union when USGS mapped the area.


Mike


On 7/7/2014 11:00 PM, MAPS-L automatic digest system wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> If you are interested in getting some of the Topographic Map Printing Plates, you might want to keep tabs on the following site:ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/va/reston/Engravings/
>
> The USGS is releasing the plates bit by bit. They are still in release 1. In particular, the Release 1 folder has a KMZ files for maps of various scales and also has an Excel Spreadsheet with a list of all of the maps available at this time. There are also update messages each week (in the main folder, not the Release 1 folder) with information on what has been requested and plans for the future.
>
> There will be additional releases of plates as time goes on. So what you need to do is keep monitoring the releases to see if you find any maps for the places of interest you and your area. For example, I know that release 1 only contains 2 plates for maps related to Illinois: the Chicago IMW and a 15 minute topo map for Ottawa, Illinois (it is easier to sort by Label and then browse).
>
> Happy hunting!
>
> Linda Zellmer