GARDENA (United States), Nov 20 — Some of Jim Henson’s most memorable creations go under the hammer in California next week, with the first US auction of puppets and memorabilia from the late entertainer’s decades-long career.

Highlights include a pair of shoes worn by the domineering Miss Piggy in a Muppets movie, as well as puppets from Fraggle Rock and characters from the Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

Fans will have the chance to bid on more than 400 items at the November 25 auction, which is also being held online on the Julien’s Auctions website.

“This is the first time ever that you can buy an authorised, authentic piece of Jim Henson Company memorabilia,” said Roy Parker, pop culture specialist at the auction house.

Henson, who died in 1990, revolutionised puppetry by making the rigid figures manoeuvrable, latterly through his Creature Shop, creating now-instantly recognisable characters like Kermit the Frog.

He also imagined entire universes that came to life in films like Labyrinth (1986) and The Dark Crystal (1982).

His creations are “very nostalgic, because they remind everybody of their childhood and when they first saw Kermit the Frog up on screen,” said Parker.

The auction, which will be held in person in Los Angeles as well as online, commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Jim Henson Company and is expected to raise tens of thousands of dollars. — AFP