Rare Sesame Street Photos Reveal How It All Began

I stumbled onto a great piece over at Backstage and Beyond from the Library of Congress that pulled me straight into the early days of Sesame Street, and I couldn’t stop looking at the photos. The article, written by Melissa Lindberg for the Library of Congress’s “Picture This” series, delves into a set of behind-the-scenes images that feel both raw and oddly magical.

What really got me was seeing Jim Henson and his crew in action. Something is grounding about it. You realize pretty quickly that this thing we all grew up with didn’t just appear fully formed. It was built. Piece by piece. Puppet by puppet. Moment by moment. And yes, when you see how it all works, a bit of the illusion fades, but in its place, you gain a deeper respect for the craft.

Back in 1969, Charlotte Brooks, a staff photographer for Look Magazine, spent time on set capturing it all. Her photos don’t just document a TV show. They capture a process. You can almost feel the uncertainty in the room. At that point, this quirky, almost ragtag production could have gone either way. No one knew it would become a cultural cornerstone.

And then there’s that quote from a 1945 profile in Popular Photography that sticks with you:

“Learn to anticipate human behavior, so that when the moment arrives for the picture, you can focus, compose, adjust and shoot in a split second.”

That mindset shows up in her work here. Brooks wasn’t just snapping pictures. She was reading the room, watching reactions, and capturing something real.

She also turned her lens toward Joan Ganz Cooney, observing how children interacted with the show. That intersection of media and early childhood development is fascinating. You’re not just watching a show come together. You’re watching an experiment in learning unfold in real time.

Brooks, born Charlotte Finkelstein Brooks, often described herself as a “sociologist with a camera,” and it fits. She had a way of capturing not just images, but shifts in culture. As one of the few long-term female staff photographers at Look from 1951 to 1971, she documented everything from civil rights to the evolving role of working mothers.

Her 1970 photo essay on Sesame Street’s first season, co-authored with Betty Baer, leaned into the show’s educational impact. The numbers alone are wild. An $8 million budget at the time, framed as less than a penny per child per day. When you think about the reach and influence that followed, that might be one of the best investments in media history.

And the fact that her archives now live at the Library of Congress just feels right. She was documenting more than moments. She was capturing a shift in how we communicate, teach, and connect with the next generation.

Looking at those photos now, you get this sense that Jim Henson knew he was onto something, even if the rest of the world hadn’t caught up yet. It wasn’t polished. It wasn’t guaranteed. But it was driven by experience, instinct, and a creative leap that somehow stuck the landing.

And honestly, that’s the part I love most.

Read full article: 9/22/1970 – Look Magazine Sesame St. article- inside cover.