LibGuides: Exploring the Kiplinger Washington Collection: How to Access the Kiplinger Washington Collection

How to Access the Kiplinger Washington Collection

Catalog Records
Kiplinger Research Library Visit

Online Catalog
The DC History Center uses the PastPerfect online system to present catalog information about its holdings. Catalog records are brief descriptions of the collection item, which may or may not include a thumbnail reference image and/or a link to a more detailed finding aid.

There's a quick search link on the catalog homepage to the Kiplinger Washington Collection, which was cataloged prior to donation to the DC History Center.

Object IDs reflect a cataloging system devised by a former curator of the collection. Object IDs begin with KC followed by a 4-digit number. The number indicates the order in which the item came into the collection/was cataloged.

In addition, the object ID sheds light on the type of material:

PR indicates a print
PT = painting
DR = drawing
MP = map
BS = broadside

The F and U formerly indicated whether the item was framed or unframed; however, many items have since been deframed without the object ID changing.

In addition to the quick link, here are several different ways to search the online catalog to Kiplinger Washington Collection material.

Keyword Search

The Keyword Search button allows you to perform a general search across multiple fields for any catalog records online. The online catalog follows Boolean operations and can be successfully searched in the following ways. The Keyword Search button allows you to perform a general search across multiple fields for any catalog records online.

OR: is the default connector between words (e.g. a search for Kiplinger Washington Collection will return records associated with Kiplinger OR Washington OR Collection - so not very helpful in this case).
AND: use AND if you want to find records where both keywords are found (e.g. Kiplinger AND Washington AND Collection)
NOT: use NOT to exclude keywords from your search
Quotation Marks: to search for a specific phrase, such as the collection name, be sure to put the phrase within quotes (e.g. "Kiplinger Washington Collection").
Asterisk: Use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard (e.g. a search for histor* would come up with records containing history, histories, historical, etc.)

Advanced Search

The Advanced Search button can help you be more specific with your search. You can search for a word or phrase within a particular search category or use multiple categories to further narrow down your search results. For example, searching White in the People field will bring up any records associated with a member of the White family, without having to sift through black & white photographs. Phrase searching with quotes and use of wildcards (*) are available in Advanced Search.

Catalog Searches (Archives / Photos / Printed Materials / Artwork & Selected Objects)

The catalog buttons can also help narrow down your search, by only searching with a selected catalog. You can also browse records within that catalog without performing a search. Phrase searching, wildcards (*) as well as AND/OR statements are available when performing catalog searches.

If you only want to search for Photos, click the Photographs & Selected Visual Materials catalog button and type in your keyword(s) or phrase.
The Archives catalog include manuscripts, records, personal papers, maps, ephemera, and oral histories.
The Artwork & Selected Objects catalog includes prints and lithographs.
The Printed Materials catalog includes books, pamphlets, and selected published government documents.

In the Photographs & Selected Visual Materials catalog only, to find images of a particular location, the best way is to search using the hundred block of the address. For example, to find pictures of 906 G Street NW, use 900 AND G and NW. Additionally, you can enter the 4-digit Square number in the advance search field. If the building is a named institution, it might also be searchable under its name (e.g. “General Post Office”).

The Kiplinger Research Library, located on the second floor of the Carnegie Library building, is the DC History Center’s non-circulating, special collections repository.

Scheduling A Research Appointment
Appointments are required for in-person access to the Kiplinger Research Library.

There are also three kinds of remote services available through the Kiplinger Research Library.

Remote Reference Services
Quick Reference | Paid Research Services | Digital Reproductions

Collection Organization and Cataloging Scheme

Kiplinger Washington Collection (KC)
This collection consists of artwork, maps, prints, photographs, books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and ephemera relating to Washington, D.C. (considered Series I: Collections; search KC in the object ID field across all catalogs to see records for individual artworks and individually cataloged titles; search KCvf for pamphlets and published material arranged by subject). The collection also comprises curatorial files; correspondence; exhibit files; and other administrative files. These are considered Series II: Collection Records (search KCms).

The materials represent more than two centuries of the city's evolution, some predating L'Enfant's 1791 city plan. The collection comprises of iconic images of D.C. as well as the scenes of daily life in the city. Willard Kiplinger was particularly interested in the rapidly changing streetscape of the city and actively collected images of what he called "Vanishing Washington." He commissioned local artists such as Caroline Beane, Audrey Preissler Roll, Paul Hoffmaster, Theodore Hancock, Leo Herschfield, Helen Durston, Kingsley Gibson, and Lily Spandorf to create paintings, etchings, and drawings of local landmarks.

The collection also contains nearly 2,500 photographs from the Civil War to the present including mediums such as stereoviews, cartes de visite, and silver gelatin prints. They include photographers such as Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Underwood and Underwood, Volkmar Wentzel, James Meek, and Joseph Baylor Roberts. In the mid-twentieth-century William Barrett took hundreds of photographs documenting city blocks and buildings as part of the Vanishing Washington project.

See the below for more information on accessing specific segments of the Kiplinger Washington Collection.

Kiplinger Washington Collection maps, prints, broadsides, and artwork
Prints, lithographs, paintings and other artwork that is part of the Kiplinger Washington Collection. The focus is almost exclusively the built environment. This series includes materials collected by the Kiplingers as well as commissioned by them.
Object IDs reflect a cataloging system devised by a former curator of the collection. Object IDs begin with KC followed by a 4-digit number. The number indicates the order in which the item came into the collection/was cataloged. In addition, the object ID sheds light on the type of material:
PR indicates a print
PT = painting
DR = drawing
MP = map
BS = broadside
The F and U formerly indicated whether the item was framed or unframed; however, many items have since been deframed without the object ID changing.
Kiplinger Washington Collection Barrett collection
William Edmund "Bill" Barrett (1927-1997) graduated from Georgetown University in 1951 and launched his career as a freelance architectural photographer in 1961. Washington-area clients included the National Capital Planning Commission, Octagon House, Decatur House, the Junior League, the National Park Service and Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. The Barrett images in the Kiplinger Washington Collection are all cataloged online and are all street scenes in the 1960s. The object IDs reflect a cataloging system devised by a former curator of the collection. Object IDs begin with KC followed by a 4-digit number. The number indicates the order in which the item came into the collection/was cataloged. In addition, the object ID sheds light on the type of material and creator: PH indicates photograph; WB is for William Barrett. The physical prints are arranged by square, reflecting Barrett's systematic method of documenting the built environment.
Kiplinger Washington Collection Vertical Files
Rather than the traditional vertical files, which are usually clippings from a newspaper, the vertical files in the Kiplinger Washington Collection are intact, often rare publications. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Kiplinger Washington Collection Curatorial Files
This series includes
Subseries A: Object Records, arranged sequentially by KC object ID (eg KC1956; KC4034).
Subseries B: Artist Files comprise correspondence between artists and Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., as well as internal correspondence regarding purchases and commissions. Arranged alphabetically by artist.
Subseries C: Art Source Files comprise correspondence and other records between dealers and Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.
Subseries D: Use Files comprise loan and order records. Arranged chronologically.
Subseries E: Exhibit Files comprise exhibit catalogs. Arranged chronologically by exhibit.
Subseries F: Research Files comprise subject-based research materials. Arranged by alphabetically by subject.
Subseries G: Cataloging Files comprise cataloging record files, conservation files, and exhibition preparation documents. Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Subseries H: Slide Files comprise one set of copy slides of the entire collection arranged by object ID, and one set of copy slides arranged by subject.
Access to this some portions of this series is restricted; please consult with staff.