A piece of history is heading to auction.
Judy Garland’s iconic ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” are expected to fetch over $800,000 through Heritage Auctions. The shoes, currently at a bid of $812,000 with a minimum raise to $825,000, have a storied past involving theft and recovery.
In 2005, ex-mobster Terry Jon Martin stole the slippers from the Judy Garland Museum, seeing it as his “one last score,” as reported by the Associated Press. He believed they contained real rubies, given their previous insurance value of a million dollars. After a 13-year search, the FBI recovered the shoes in 2018, estimating them at $3.5 million. Martin was eventually charged with the theft of major artwork.
The “Oz” slippers, acquired in 1970 by collector Michael Shaw, are now up for auction under his and Heritage’s leadership. First seen in the 1939 classic film, the slippers remain as iconic as the movie itself. Heritage Auctions describes them as “vintage Innes Shoe Co. red silk faille heels with uppers and heels covered with hand-sequined silk georgette, lined in white leather, and soles painted red with orange felt adhered.” Their bows, detailed with rhinestones and bugle beads, are slightly different in size.
This historic auction, concluding on December 7, will offer a lucky collector a piece of cinematic legend.
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