Ruby Slippers From ‘Wizard of Oz’ Sell for $28 Million at Auction

The ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore as Dorothy within the 1939 manufacturing of “The Wizard of Oz” have been bought for a record-breaking $28 million on Saturday throughout a reside public sale in Dallas within the newest flip for one of the vital recognizable and storied artifacts in movie historical past.

Heritage Auctions bought the slippers on behalf of a collector, Michael Shaw, who owned them. The slippers — which bought for vastly greater than the $10 million that the public sale home’s govt vp, Joe Maddalena, believed they might — are one in all solely 4 recognized surviving pairs worn by Ms. Garland within the film.

The public sale home didn’t instantly disclose the id of the client.

“There is just no comparability between Judy Garland’s ruby slippers and another piece of Hollywood memorabilia,” Mr. Maddalena mentioned.

The last bid of $28 million was the biggest sum spent at an public sale for a bit of leisure memorabilia, the public sale home mentioned. It exceeded the earlier record-holder, Marilyn Monroe’s subway gown from the 1955 movie “The Seven Year Itch,” which bought in 2011 for $5.52 million with charges, the public sale home mentioned. Including taxes and charges, the slippers bought for $32.5 million.

During the public sale, which was peppered with “Wicked” and “Wizard of Oz” references and puns, the auctioneer excitedly held a crouching place — just like the Wicked Witch of the West within the story — as he pointed to individuals across the room, who referred to as out bids in $100,000 increments. At instances, a bidder, usually on the telephone with a shopper, would elevate the highest bid by $800,000 or extra, which garnered some stifled “ooohs” and “ahhhs” from attendees.

The public sale included different items of “Wizard of Oz” memorabilia. A Wicked Witch of the West hat worn by the actress Margaret Hamilton bought for almost $3 million, the public sale home mentioned.