Ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz are for sale nearly 2 decades after they were stolen
Iconic Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz Up for Auction
A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz are back on the auction block almost two decades after they were stolen by a thief who believed they were adorned with real jewels.
Online bidding is now open and will run through December 7, according to a news release from Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
The slippers were originally owned by memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who lent them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in 2005. However, the iconic shoes were stolen that same year when someone broke into a display case at the museum.
After being missing for over a decade, the FBI was able to recover the stolen slippers in 2018. Now, the shoes are up for auction and the museum is among the bidders hoping to reclaim them.
Grand Rapids, Garland’s birthplace, has been raising funds for the slippers at the annual Judy Garland festival. In addition to these efforts, Minnesota lawmakers have set aside $100,000 to help purchase the slippers.
The thief responsible for the heist, Terry Jon Martin, was sentenced in January to time served due to his poor health. He confessed to breaking into the museum and stealing the slippers with the belief that they were worth $1 million due to being adorned with real jewels.
Aside from the ruby slippers, the auction also includes other memorabilia from The Wizard of Oz, such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West and the iconic screen door from Dorothy’s Kansas home.