The Wizard of Oz is one of the most famous and beloved films ever made, and also features one of the most iconic costume pieces in history: the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland.
The sparkly shoes have had quite a history as movie memorabilia: the most famous and well-preserved pair was stolen back in 2005. But after being recovered, the slippers are now up for auction.
Designed by MGM’s chief costume designer Gilbert Adrian, the ruby slippers are one of the many iconic design elements found in the 1939 classic. They play an important role in the plot, and ultimately are the key to transporting Dorothy back to Kansas.
The ruby slippers are unique to the MGM film: in the original novel, the shoes are actually silver, but the studio made them ruby to take advantage of then-groundbreaking Technicolor technology. Many pairs of slippers were created for the film, and today four known pairs still exist.
As The Wizard of Oz grew into an American classic, thanks to yearly TV airings, the shoes became among the most famous and most-coveted pieces of movie memorabilia, valued and millions of dollars.
“They were much more than just a piece of Hollywood memorabilia, much more than a valuable piece of industry history,” wrote Rhys Thomas, author of The Ruby Slippers of Oz. “They transcended Hollywood, to the point where they represented the powerful image of innocence to all America.”
One of the surviving pairs was purchased by memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who lent the slippers out to various museums. While they were on display at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005, the slippers were stolen after someone smashed through their glass display case. Despite a million dollar reward for their return, they remained missing for years.
But in 2018, the shoes were finally recovered by the FBI. The culprit, Terry Jon Martin, admitted to the theft, and was mistakenly led to believe that the prop shoes contained real jewels, according to AP.
Now, these ruby slippers are going on sale again, part of a Heritage Auction going on through December 7. While not the only pair of ruby slippers in existence, they are reportedly the highest quality, and were featured in the iconic close-up shot of Dorothy clicking her heels together.
It’s not certain what the shoes will go for, but they are valued in the millions. If you’re an Oz head but slippers aren’t really your thing, don’t worry, as there are other costume pieces up for bidding, including the Wicked Witch of the West’s hat, an iconic piece of movie memorabilia in its own right.
“The ruby slippers and Wicked Witch’s hat stand at the pinnacle of Hollywood history,” Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said in a press release. “The ruby slippers embody magic and innocence that resonate far beyond film, representing a true cultural icon. Meanwhile, the Wicked Witch’s hat adds an edge of cinematic legend to this auction. Together, they offer collectors a rare connection to The Wizard of Oz.”
“Yet these are only a fraction of the treasures in this unprecedented event,” he added. “It’s a truly once-in-a-lifetime auction that profoundly, sincerely celebrates film and television history.” In addition to The Wizard of Oz, the auction lot also includes props, costume pieces and production documents from The Godfather, Back to the Future Part II, Jumanji and Star Trek.
In 2012, Leonardo Dicaprio and a group of donors purchased another pair of ruby slippers at an auction, to donate them to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The exact price was not disclosed, but they were estimated to be worth $2-3 million.
We don’t have millions of dollars to bid on these, but they’d sure make one amazing addition to someone’s collection of movie memorabilia.
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