A pair of ruby red slippers worn by actress Judy Garland in the classic film The Wizard of Oz sold for $28 million at an auction in the US on Saturday.
One of four surviving pairs used in the film, the famous serial pumps were once stolen from a Minnesota museum.
Online bidding started a month ago, it is expected that the sandals will fetch up to $3m (£2.35m) at auction, according to Heritage Auctions – The estimate is $25m (£20m) lower.
Auctioneers called the slippers the “Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia” and said their sale price made them the most valuable piece of movie memorabilia ever sold at auction.
The winning bid prompted applause from the Dallas auction room, with the sale coinciding with renewed interest in the musical following the recent release of the prequel film Wicked.
Garland was just 16 years old when she played Dorothy in the classic 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz. Media outlet Variety ranked it second on its inaugural list of the “100 Greatest Movies of All Time”.
The film is a musical adaptation of the 1900 children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum. While in the book the magical slippers were silver, the movie producers changed them to red to take advantage of the new Technicolor technology.
In the film, as in the book, a pivotal moment occurs when Dorothy must click her heels three times as she repeats “There’s no place like home” to leave the magical land of Oz and return to Kansas and Aunt Em. hers.
While Garland did wear several pairs of shoes during filming, only four pairs are believed to have survived.
One of these pairs is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. But this auction pair has its own unique history.
Collector Michael Shaw lent these sandals to the Judy Garland Museum in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, when they were stolen in 2005.
Professional thief Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to smash the glass case and snatch the sandals, believing that their $1 million insurance value was definitely because they were covered in real gems.
But when he took them to a “fence” – and a middleman selling stolen goods to discreet buyers – he discovered they were just glass.
So he gave the shoes to someone else. It wasn’t until 2018 that the FBI recovered the shoes in a raid operation. What happened to them during those 13 years is still unknown.
In 2023, Martin – who was in his 70s and used a wheelchair – pleaded guilty to stealing them and was sentenced to time served.
John Kelsch, curator of the Judy Garland Museum, said: “There was some closure and we know for sure that Terry Jon Martin broke into our museum, but I want to know what happened to them after he let them go.” told CBS News Minnesota in 2023.
“Only did it because he thought they were real rubies and threw them into the jewelry fence. I mean, the value is not the ruby. The value is an American treasure, a national treasure. Stolen.” them not knowing it seems ridiculous.” .”
