U.S. Department of State (1789 - present) is the main foreign affairs body of the executive branch of the United States government. It has produced thousands of maps since the start of the 20th century dealing with U.S. geography, the geography of foreign countries, and the location of embassies and consulates. More by this mapmaker...

U.S. Information Agency (U.S.I.A.; 1953 – 1999), in its early years also known as United States Information Service (USIS) within the various embassies of the U.S. abroad, was a product of the Cold War dedicated to 'public diplomacy,' often but not exclusively anti-Communist propaganda in foreign languages targeted at the local population. It was preceded by the Office of the Coordinator of Information, created in 1941, which housed Voice of America (VOA) founded the following year. USAI was part of a massive information war effort to counter Communist and anti-American propaganda, especially in the Third World. The agency also produced information for the domestic audience, trumpeting the good work being done by U.S. entities and interests abroad. It also conducted public opinion polls throughout the world and produced twice-daily reports on foreign media for delivery to the President. Often collaborating with the State Department and Voice of America, USIA was instructed not to be overly transparent but to use subtle methods and messages to develop a positive image of the U.S. abroad. The agency was dissolved and placed within the State Department in 1999 as the office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Learn More...

General Drafting Corporation (1909 - 1992) was one of the 'Big Three' publishers of road maps between 1930 and 1970, along with H. M. Gousha and Rand McNally. Founded in 1909, Otto G. Lindberg, an immigrant from Finland and the company's founder, began his business with a borrowed drafting board and a $500 loan from his father. At the time only twenty-three years old, Lindberg advertised his business as 'any and all general drafting' and was based out of 170 Broadway in New York City. Only two years later, in 1911, the firm secured its first contract from the American Automobile Association to make 'road maps'. Lindberg incorporated his business in 1914 and became its first Chairman of the Board, a position he held until his death in 1968. Lindberg persuaded Standard Oil of New Jersey to let him draw the 'best' road map of the state that they had ever seen, and Standard Oil would distribute it for free. Sufficiently impressed with the finished product, Standard contracted General Drafting to make all their road maps - a relationship that lasted another six decades. This relationship allowed General Drafting to work exclusively for Standard Oil, but when oil companies stopped providing free maps, General Drafting was in a bind. The company tried to expand into the retail map market, and it of course continued creating maps for Exxon (the new name for Standard Oil) to sell, but its returns continued to decline. The firm was purchased in 1992 by Langenscheidt and subsequently absorbed into the American Map Company. General Drafting's state maps became this company's 'Travelvision' lineup. Learn More...