That's right, the ruby slippers sported by Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) in the 1939 American musical fantasy film, The Wizard of Oz. True, they don't look the same, but these were much less costly. It's amazing at what some uber-rich folks buy for who knows why.
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| Glinda, the good witch, gifted the slippers to Dorothy |
Dallas-based auction house, Heritage Auctions, had estimated they would surpass $3 million since online bidding stood at $1.55 million before live bidding began. Fast bidding surpassed that figure, some bidders phoned in offers and bidding ended in 15 minutes with an unknown buyer. Figuring in auction house fee, the total cost paid was about $32.5 million — all for movie memorabilia with no real jewels, the slippers are made of sequins. (The previous auction record for entertainment memorabilia was $5.52 million for a windswept white dress Marilyn Monroe wore in the 1955 film,The Seven Year Itch.)
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| Ruby red slippers that went for $28 million at auction, December 2024 |
Ironically, in the 1900 The Wizard of Oz book by Frank Baum, Dorothy's slippers are silver. Production company MGM chose red so they would stand out against the yellow-brick road featured in the Technicolor film. The costume team made multiple pairs to ensure against damage during filming. Only four pairs are known to have survived and are owned by private collectors. A pair is displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
In 2005, this pair of the iconic footwear was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, MN, after a thief smashed a glass display case. Their whereabouts were unknown until the FBI recovered them in 2018. The later convicted thief said he'd been told the slippers contained real jewels.
The pair has been on loan to the museum, Garland's 1920s restored birthplace, housing a Judy Garland and Wizard of Oz collection. After their recovery, they were returned to their owner, Michael Shaw, a California collector. In 1969, he had bought the shoes and a gingham dress from former MGM film costumer Kent Warner for $2,500. When stolen, they were insured for $1 million.
Grand Rapids wanted to get the shoes back and bid in the auction. The museum had solicited donations to boost the amount raised by the city of Grand Rapids at its annual Judy Garland festival. Minnesota lawmakers had also set aside $100,000, hardly enough as it turned out.
And, not only did the thrift store have a pair of red shoes, but also these actual red slippers. The shoes and slippers together were less costly than the movie ones. Full disclosure, while my name is Dorothy, I've never owned a pair of ruby red footwear of any type.
(In answer to a comment, the only thing obtained during this thrift store visit were the red shoes and slippers photos; however, I did do a clothing drop-off.)
Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone
It's good to be home without clicking my heels 3 times.
17 comments:
One of my granddaughters when about 3 or 5 wanted to wear a pair of red slippers for several years, so parental units found a source of sizes to fit her growing feet. They had tiny raised heels and this grandmother cringed that they would hamper her walking safely!
Good morning, Fun post Those red slippers look pretty cozy-happy weekend-another super cold one here for the weekend.
...I had read about the auction!
I heard about that on the news. I can see why (the other) Dorothy came to mind when you saw them!
The rich are too rich for their own good or anybody else’s good.
I'd heard they'd discovered those stolen shoes too. Did the museum get to buy them, or did they sell for too much money? I was also surprised to learn that there are more than 1 pair of Ruby Slippers. But I can see why you thought of Dorothy when you saw those red shoes. hugs-Erika
I like those red slippers and interesting history on the red shoes.
So red is the color of our true love's shoes. I did not know all these tidbits. But, just as an aside, 28 million is not funny.
So what DID you buy at the thrift store? These slippers are beautiful!! I saw a T.V. show about the red slippers and their theft. It's amazing to me how much something can cost if it was worn by someone famous. But I guess the wizard Of Oz is iconic though, so maybe that is an exception!
if I were able to walk in those red shoes I would have bought them. I love red shoes, my grandmother wore only red shoes. she had to wear white oxfords with white uniform at the hosptial where she worked but all other shoes were red. she had on black pair for funerals. before I got married after I got my first job, I bought any shoe I liked, in black, red and beige..
I don't own any shoes now, and no red anything. I live in sandals, and one pair of black walking dog shoes. I don't wear red sandals because I don't want to call attention to my 80 year old ugly feet
Hi Beatrice, As a lifelong philatelist that also collects postcards...and my wife collects cow creamers plus teddy bears, I kind of understand why people collect stuff. What I don't understand is collecting celebrity stuff for millions of dollars. I guess that if one has billionaire $$$, you can just buy stuff you want or that serves as a 'prestige marker' for lower level humans. I'd like to have a red & white 56 Olds just because it was my first car. Of course, the really high end items can be profitable if you resell them at the right time. There is no right time for average stamp collections or cow creamers...and our son and grandsons don't care about any of it... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
It upset a lot of people when they slippers left the museum. I have had red shoes.
Sounds like you need a pair of red shoes! ;)
It's amazing the price the red shoes/slippers went for at auction!!!
All the best Jan
We saw the ruby slippers somewhere years ago. I like those last slippers better!
As a Dorothy, I think you need a pair of red shoes :)
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