‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slippers Sell for Record $28 Million

When Heritage Auctions made a pair of ruby slippers used in The Wizard of Oz the highlight of their December 7 auction, they knew they were in for spectacular results. With a low presale estimate of $3 million, the shoes reached their final price of $32.5 million within minutes, becoming, as the auction house put it in a press release, “by far, the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction.”

The shoes also contributed to the December 7 Hollywood/Entertainment Signature Auction setting a price record for entertainment auctions with total sales of $38,615,188.

The record price is a fitting achievement for the ruby slippers, given the role they play in movie history. They are not only among the most recognizable costume pieces from one of the most beloved films of all time; they have an important connection to the technology of filmmaking. Contrary to popular belief, The Wizard of Oz was not the first movie to be filmed in Technicolor, but it is one of the most famous and innovative examples of its use. 

Who can forget the magic of Dorothy opening the door of her ordinary black-and-white farmhouse to the vividly colorful Land of Oz? The shoes, which were silver in L. Frank Baum’s book, were adapted into the bright red ruby slippers for the film to take advantage of the color process and create a better visual impression. This is also said to be the reason for the Wicked Witch of the West’s green skin, another detail that was not in the book. (Speaking of the Witch, her hat, complete with “M. Hamilton” written inside its brim for actress Margaret Hamilton, sold at the auction for an impressive $2,930,000.)

There are four known surviving pairs of ruby slippers from the filming of The Wizard of Oz. In 2012, director Steven Spielberg and actor Leonardo DiCaprio spent $2 million to buy a pair to donate to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. The sale was brokered by Profiles in History, an auction house founded by Joe Maddalena, current Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions and apparent expert on Wizard of Oz memorabilia.

The pair that sold at Heritage has a thrilling backstory that no doubt contributed to its record-setting value. Their previous owner, collector and former child actor Michael Shaw, displayed them in traveling exhibits. He loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in 2005, where they were stolen. When the FBI recovered them 13 years later, it turned out that the thief, an elderly man in poor health, stole the shoes as “one last score” and erroneously believed they were decorated with real rubies.

This pair may also be the most visually familiar to fans. They were made for close-ups, including the famous scene where Dorothy finally uses their power by clicking her heels to return home.

Now, like Dorothy, the shoes are going home after a long, fantastic journey. In a press release from Heritage Auctions, Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said, “There is simply no comparison between Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia… It’s been a privilege for all of us at Heritage to be a part of the slippers’ epic journey over the rainbow and off to a new home.”

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