Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal

Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal is a book based on Jim Henson's journals, edited by Henson Company archivist Karen Falk. The 192-page book was released on October 31, 2012 by Chronicle Books, and includes a foreword written by Lisa Henson.
The book is compiled from material held in The Jim Henson Company Archives, especially "Jim Henson's Red Book", a daily journal that Henson kept from 1965 to 1988. Entries from the journal are filled out with historical notes, photographs, sketches and production material. Two-page spreads cover every major production and turning point in Henson's career, with a focus on archive material that had never been published before.
In conjunction with the release of the documentary Jim Henson: Idea Man, a reprinted version of the book was released on August 27, 2024, with an added forward by director Ron Howard.
==Contents==
* Foreword by Lisa Henson
* Introduction by Karen Falk
* Chapter 1 -- The Washington Years: 1954-1962
::This chapter covers Henson's college years, including his work on local TV with Sam and Friends, his marriage to Jane Nebel and his early work with Jerry Juhl.
* Chapter 2 -- New York and New Directions: 1963-1969
::This chapter covers Henson's move to New York City, and opens with Henson beginning to work with Frank Oz. The chapter discusses Rowlf the Dog's appearances on The Jimmy Dean Show, and the Muppet team's commercials and variety show appearances. It ends with the early work preparing for the Muppets' participation in Sesame Street.
* Chapter 3 -- The World Tunes In: 1970-1979
::Beginning with Sesame Street and the Muppet storybook specials, this chapter describes a very busy decade for Henson, as he launched The Muppet Show and filmed The Muppet Movie.
* Chapter 4 -- Fantasy, Fraggles and Fearless Imagination: 1980-1988
::Henson films The Great Muppet Caper and then branches out to new creative areas, including the creation of Fraggle Rock with colleague Michael K. Frith, filming The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and establishing Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Henson's company expands, overseeing animated shows (Muppet Babies) and licensed products ("Croonchy Stars"). The chapter ends with Henson's early work designing The Jim Henson Hour.
* Epilogue -- To Be Continued: 1989-1990
::A short final chapter covers the last years of Henson's life, and the work that inspired his colleagues to produce further creative work.
* Timeline
* Selected Bibliography
==Errata==
* Page 92 incorrectly refers to Big Mouse as the character that Kermit went a courtin'. It was Miss Mousey whom Kermit (and Big Mouse) went a courtin'.
* Page 114 describes Barkley's conception during a lead-up to Sesame Street Season 10, which may be misinterpreted as the character's debut. In fact, the character first appeared twice in Season 9 for Episode 1177 and Episode 1184.
* Page 154 incorrectly refers to a photo of Muppet Babies plush from Hasbro as "how they appear in The Muppets Take Manhattan."
==Promotion==
Author Karen Falk made several appearances promoting the book at various venues, presenting a look at the contents, video highlights, and book signings:
*November 3, 2012: Museum of the Moving Image
*December 8, 2012: The Paley Center for Media (Los Angeles)Paley Center event listing
*September 4, 2015: Dragon ConMuppetsHenson: Muppet/The Jim Henson Company Themed Events at This Weekend's Dragon Con
;Reprint
*September 22, 2024: Museum of the Moving Image
*September 27, 2024: Smithsonian National Museum of American HistoryJim Henson Company on Facebook
==See also==
* Jim Henson Books
==Sources==
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Non-fiction Books
Category:Jim Henson Books