When Heritage Auctions made a pair of ruby slippers utilized in The Wizard of Ouncesthe spotlight of their December 7 public sale, they knew they had been in for spectacular outcomes. With a low presale estimate of $3 million, the footwear reached their ultimate value of $32.5 million inside minutes, turning into, because the public sale home put it in a press launch, “by far, essentially the most beneficial film memorabilia ever bought at public sale.”
The footwear additionally contributed to the December 7 Hollywood/Leisure Signature Public sale setting a value file for leisure auctions with whole gross sales of $38,615,188.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
The file value is a becoming achievement for the ruby slippers, given the position they play in film historical past. They aren’t solely among the many most recognizable costume items from probably the most beloved movies of all time; they’ve an essential connection to the expertise of filmmaking. Opposite to in style perception, The Wizard of Ounceswas not the primary film to be filmed in Technicolor, however it is likely one of the most well-known and revolutionary examples of its use.
Who can neglect the magic of Dorothy opening the door of her odd black-and-white farmhouse to the vividly colourful Land of Oz? The footwear, which had been silver in L. Frank Baum’s ebook, had been tailored into the intense purple ruby slippers for the movie to reap the benefits of the colour course of and create a greater visible impression. That is additionally stated to be the rationale for the Depraved Witch of the West’s inexperienced pores and skin, one other element that was not within the ebook. (Talking of the Witch, her hat, full with “M. Hamilton” written inside its brim for actress Margaret Hamilton, bought on the public sale for a formidable $2,930,000.)
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
There are 4 recognized 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 purchase a pair to donate to the Academy Museum of Movement Photos in Los Angeles. The sale was brokered by Profiles in Historical past, an public sale home based by Joe Maddalena, present Govt Vice President of Heritage Auctions and obvious knowledgeable on Wizard of Ouncesmemorabilia.
The pair that bought at Heritage has an exhilarating backstory that little question contributed to its record-setting worth. Their earlier proprietor, collector and former little one actor Michael Shaw, displayed them in touring reveals. He loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in 2005, the place they had been stolen. When the FBI recovered them 13 years later, it turned out that the thief, an aged man sick, stole the footwear as “one final rating” and erroneously believed they had been adorned with actual rubies.
This pair may additionally be essentially the most visually acquainted to followers. They had been made for close-ups, together with the well-known scene the place Dorothy lastly makes use of their energy by clicking her heels to return house.
Now, like Dorothy, the footwear are going house after a protracted, implausible journey. In a press launch from Heritage Auctions, Govt Vice President Joe Maddalena stated, “There may be merely no comparability between Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers and every other piece of Hollywood memorabilia… It’s been a privilege for all of us at Heritage to be part of the slippers’ epic journey over the rainbow and off to a brand new house.”
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