One of the four existing pairs worn by actress Judy Garland in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" was sold on December 7 at a Heritage Auctions event for $32.5 million. According to the auction's website, the ruby slippers worn by Dorothy have become the most expensive and well-known movie memorabilia ever sold at auction.
According to Heritage Auctions' Vice President of Public Relations Robert Vilonsky, the slippers, which are now the most valuable cinematic artifacts in the world, contributed to making this auction the most successful ever held in the entertainment industry.
As a result, the total revenue from the auction, which featured Hollywood-related memorabilia, reached a record $38 million.
— The ruby slippers of Judy Garland simply cannot be compared to any other Hollywood memorabilia, noted Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions. — This incredible result reflects how significant films and movie memorabilia are to our culture and collectors. For all of us at Heritage, it was a great honor to be part of the epic journey of the slippers down the rainbow, which are now heading to a new home.
The pre-auction estimate for the slippers was $3 million and up. Bidding opened at $1.55 million. Within just a few seconds, the bids reached multimillion-dollar figures. A total of 25 bidders competed for the lot. Some participants battled for the lot for 15 minutes until the price reached the final amount. The winner participated in the auction remotely, and their name has not been disclosed.
There were only four pairs of these slippers. One pair was sold at auction in 2000 for $666,000. In 2012, Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio purchased another pair for $2 million and donated them to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
The pair of Dorothy's slippers sold on December 7 has an intriguing history. They belonged to collector Michael Shaw. At one point, he lent them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and they were stolen from there in 2005. After 13 years, in 2018, law enforcement was able to recover them. Charges of theft were brought against two elderly Americans: Terry Martin and Jerry Halu Saliterman. The former admitted his guilt, while the latter still maintains his innocence. According to Terry Martin, he committed the theft believing the slippers were adorned with real rubies; however, the fence to whom he later sold the slippers claimed that the decorations were made of glass, prompting Terry to dispose of them. Collector Michael Shaw was able to reclaim the slippers only in March 2024.
Martin, who is now 77 years old, was publicly identified as a thief only after charges were filed in May 2023. In October 2023, he pleaded guilty. In January 2024, he was sentenced to probation due to health issues: he appeared in court in a wheelchair and used an oxygen machine.