A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in 'The Wizard of Oz' is up for auction nearly two decades after a thief stole the iconic shoes, believing they were adorned with real jewels.
Online bidding has commenced and will run through December 7, according to a news release from Heritage Auctions in Dallas. The auction house received the sequin-and-bead-bedazzled slippers from Michael Shaw, a memorabilia collector who originally owned the footwear central to the beloved 1939 film. Shaw had lent the shoes in 2005 to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
That summer, an individual broke into a display case and stole the slippers. Their location remained unknown until the FBI recovered them in 2018. Now, the museum is among those competing to acquire the slippers, which were one of several pairs Garland wore during filming. Only four pairs remain.
Grand Rapids raised funds for the slippers during its annual Judy Garland festival. The collected money will supplement the $100,000 allocated this year by Minnesota lawmakers to purchase the slippers. The man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, was 76 when he was sentenced in January to time served due to his poor health. He admitted to using a hammer to break the glass of the museum’s door and display case, an act his attorney described as an attempt to achieve 'one last score' after an old associate with mob connections told him the shoes must have real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value.
The auction of movie memorabilia also includes other items from 'The Wizard of Oz,' such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West and the screen door from Dorothy’s Kansas home.
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