They had been stolen almost 20 years ago, then found in 2018: the famous red shoes worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz will be sold at auction in December.
Covered in ruby sequins and adorned with a bow on the front, Dorothy’s pumps are “legendary”, because the film from which they are based is “a cult classic, known all over the world”, underlines Nikki Hale, projects manager specials within the Heritage auction house, whose London branch is currently exhibiting the famous pair.
The house estimates that their price could reach $3 million. The sale, which began online, will close on December 7 in Dallas (United States).
The pair is the one Dorothy wears “when she begins her adventure” or “when she kicks her heels to get home,” recalls Nikki Hale, for whom shoes are “the Holy Grail when it comes to movie memorabilia.”
Only four pairs survive from the filming of Wizard of Ozreleased in 1939, and which marked generations of Americans and moviegoers all over the world.
The story of this one, owned by the same collector since the 1970s, is worthy of a film. Housed in the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, the actress’ hometown in Minnesota, the shoes mysteriously disappeared in 2005.
Despite a bounty offered to find them which increased over time to a million dollars, it would be necessary to wait until 2018 for the FBI to finally get their hands on them after a long investigation.
“They were found in a Tupperware container buried in the ground,” says Nikki Hale.
The author of the theft, Terry Martin, aged around fifty at the time, admitted the facts and indicated that he had stolen the shoes because he believed them to be encrusted with real rubies.
He was finally sentenced to a one-year suspended prison sentence in early January.
Other relics related to Wizard of Oz are also up for sale, such as one of the wigs worn by Judy Garland, period posters and photographs, as well as objects from other films, such as the wooden game board from the film, among others. Jumanji (1995) with Robin Williams.
