The Jim Henson Company Archives

The Jim Henson Company Archives, located in Manhattan, New York City, is the repository for files, drafts, and artifacts from the company's history. The archive's database, as of 2003, included over 10,000 records; the archive takes up 1,000 feet of physical space, shared with the photo library. Certain physical artifacts are stored off-site, such as 300,000 cels from Muppet Babies. The head archivist is Karen Falk.

The company archive is not all-inclusive. As stated by Falk in an "Ask Henson" query on Henson.com, the acceptance of an item into the archives is contingent upon whether it helps document the creative aspects of a production, is useful in illustrating the company history, can be used visually in marketing or promotions, and whether it can be safely and effectively stored (the latter problem led to the "de-accessioning" of Croonchy Stars cereal). In addition, every surviving item personally owned by Jim Henson is included.

In addition to concept notes, scripts, character sketches, and other pre-production and production materials, the archives includes such oddities as a "Kermit repair kit," a black gym bag containing fleese, sewing utensils, spare eyes, and a mike, for emergency use when Jim Henson made the talk show rounds. Visual materials and notes from the archives have been utilized in the past on Henson.com, in Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles, and other projects.