Archives Puzzles: A Centennial Celebration

Have a little fun with images from our collections that have been designated as open access. Anyone can now download, transform, share, and reuse millions of images as part of Smithsonian Open Access.

Each Monday, sit back, relax, and ease into the work week with puzzles created from images in our collections that have been designated as open access. Anyone can now download, transform, share, and reuse these images as part of Smithsonian Open Access, launched in 2020.

In 1876, Philadelphia hosted a world’s fair, centered around patriotism and American industry, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The fair was so successful that Congress appropriated $250,000 to build the United States National Museum, now the Arts and Industries Building. Smithsonian Assistant Secretary Spencer F. Baird lobbied exhibitors to donate their artifacts from the fair to the Smithsonian. In the end, the Institution acquired 4,000 cartons of objects in a total of 62 boxcars. 

This week’s puzzle features a scene from 1876: A Centennial Exhibition, on display in the Arts and Industries Building in the mid-1970s, that featured many of the same types of objects and even some originals that were exhibited in 1876. 

The Original

 View of a corner of an exhibit that features a bell and a wagon.

The Puzzle

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