Archives Puzzles: Queens of the Castle

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.

This week’s puzzle features a carte de visite of Caroline Henry (1839–1920) and Mary Henry (1834–1903), who lived in the Smithsonian Institution Building, or the “Castle,” with their father, first Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry, until his death in 1878. In Mary Henry’s diaries, available in the Smithsonian Transcription Center, the young woman wrote about the military leaders and scientists the family entertained at the Castle. Henry was also active in her local communities. She worked with the News Boys Association, taught Sunday School for children, and volunteered to care for wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

The Original

The Puzzle