Collection founder Willard M. Kiplinger (1891 – 1967) was particularly interested in the rapidly changing streetscape of the city and actively collected images of what he called "Vanishing Washington." He and his son Austin H. Kiplinger (1918 – 2015) commissioned local artists such as Caroline Bean, Audrey Preissler Roll, Paul Hoffmaster, Theodore Hancock, Leo Hershfield, Helen Durston, Kingsley Gibson, and Lily Spandorf to create paintings, etchings, and drawings of local landmarks. The Kiplingers also hired William Barrett in the 1960s to take hundreds of photographs documenting city blocks and buildings as part of the Vanishing Washington project.
The following selection of published materials feature Kiplinger Washington Collection items that illustrate the Civil War. Many items from the collection that are featured and/or cited are cataloged in the DC History Center's online catalog.
A guide to Civil War Washington, D.C. : the capital of the union by 
Mr. Lincoln's city : an illustrated guide to the Civil War sites of Washington by The Civil War is well-represented in the the Kiplinger Washington Collection. The items predominantly reflect the District's built environment during the Civil War, from the construction and use of hospitals, barracks, and temporary government structures, to the arming of forts and the repurposing of government buildings and private residences. The full scope of relevant material can be browsed through the online catalog, with a selection of curated searches below.
