Ruby slippers worn by actress Judy Garland in basic movie “The Wizard of Oz” can be offered at public sale this month, practically 20 years after they have been stolen.
Heritage Auctions confirmed off the magical footwear in London earlier than they go below the hammer in Dallas on December 7, with predictions they might promote for as much as $3 million.
“They are legendary like no other,” Nikki Hale, supervisor of particular initiatives at Heritage, advised AFP of the distinctive sequin lined court docket footwear, that are topped with bows.
“‘The Wizard of Oz’ really stands the test of time as a cult classic, iconic film that anywhere across the world, people know what ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is.”
“You see them when she’s clicking the heels to go home. You see them when she starts her adventure, when she goes down Munchkinland,” Hale added. “They are absolutely the Holy Grail as far as movie memorabilia.”
Only 4 pairs made for the 1939 movie nonetheless survive and people on sale have belonged to a collector since 1970.
They have been stored within the Judy Garland Museum in her house city of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, till they mysteriously disappeared in 2005.
Despite a six-figure reward and the involvement of the FBI, it was not till 2018 that they have been lastly tracked down.
“They were recovered, apparently buried in a Tupperware (box), underground,” stated Hale.
The perpetrator of the theft, Terry Martin, admitted taking them and stated he did so as a result of he believed they have been encrusted with actual rubies.
Now 76, he was given a suspended jail sentence in January this yr.
Other memorabilia from “The Wizard of Oz” can even be on sale, together with Garland’s wigs, movie posters and pictures, in addition to different objects equivalent to a wood sport board from “Jumanji” with Robin Williams.
© 2024 AFP