Puppets, Props, and High Prices at The Jim Henson Company 70th Anniversary Auction at Julien’s
The first ever auction by The Jim Henson Company marked the company’s 70th anniversary, celebrated Henson’s legacy, and made more than two million dollars.
If you grew up (or watched your kids grow up) learning from Sesame Street, laughing at The Muppet Show, or singing along with movies like Labyrinth or The Great Muppet Caper, you know that Jim Henson’s contributions to pop culture are priceless. In honor of the 70th anniversary of The Jim Henson Company, the company partnered with Julien’s to hold its first-ever public auction. Bidding began on October 22 and culminated in a live and online auction on November 25, resulting in $2.6 million in sales.
The auction included over 400 lots of puppets, props, and promotional materials from the company’s productions, as well as items personally owned by Jim Henson (1936-1999). Many items sold for several times their high estimates.
The top price went to a full-size 82-inch-tall resin prop of the Crystal of Truth from the 2019 Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, which sold for $89,600, nearly three times its $30,000 high estimate. The series was a prequel to Henson’s 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal, whose dark themes and use of animatronics and puppetry made it a departure from his previous work. A teaser poster for The Dark Crystal sold for $4,480 against a high estimate of $200.
Several puppets from Henson’s TV series Fraggle Rock, which ran from 1983 to 1987, also sold for high prices. A full-body puppet of Uncle Traveling Matt, one of the show’s most beloved characters, sold for $64,000, exceeding its $60,000 high estimate. On the show, Uncle Traveling Matt left the Fraggles’ home to explore the world of the “Silly Creatures” (humans) and wrote back to his friends and family to share his humorous observations. A puppet of another Fraggle Rock creature, one of the small green Doozers constantly building structures in the background, passed its $50,000 high estimate to sell for $57,600.
But you can’t talk about Jim Henson, especially his puppetry, without mentioning the Muppets, and items from Muppet productions ranging from the 1971 television special The Frog Prince to the 1996 film Muppet Treasure Island, sold at the auction. A one-sheet poster for 1979’s The Muppet Movie sold for $3,520, over 10 times its $200 high estimate.
The standout Muppet item was a pair of lavender suede high-heeled shoes worn by Miss Piggy in the 1981 movie The Great Muppet Caper, which sold for $22,400. The shoes, each marked “BIKE” on the interior, were used for the musical sequence “Couldn’t We Ride,” where, in an astounding feat of puppetry and visual effects, the Muppets ride bicycles through a park.
Miss Piggy - Production-Worn Shoes for "Couldn't We Ride" Bicycle Scene. Image: Julien's.
Proceeds from the auction will support The Jim Henson Company’s Archives, ensuring that the stories and characters Henson created will continue to enchant and inspire.
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