Two of the most recognizable movie props in history will go under the hammer at auction as Heritage will sell the Ruby Red Slippers and the Wicked Witch of the West hat from “The Wizard of Oz.”
Despite the fact the slippers are now worth millions, and the hat likely to fetch six figures, these items were once believed to be essentially worthless.
Both props were basically forgotten after the film wrapped up, languishing in a studio warehouse at MGM for decades.
In 1970, Michael Shaw purchased the slippers, one of at least four from the original production, for just $2,000. Around the same time, Shaw acquired the hat, according to Heritage.
Shaw brought both pieces around the country for his tour, “Michael Shaw's Hollywood,” in the 1980s and 1990s. Shaw also lent the props to institutions for public display.
In 2005, while the slippers, which were insured for $1 million, were on loan to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota — located in Garland’s childhood home — a man named Terry Martin broke into the museum and left with the slippers, disappearing into the night.
The hunt for the slippers lasted more than a decade, despite the offer of a $1 million reward as well as 1 million Marriott points offered by the hotel. Shaw received around $800,000 from his insurance policy.
In 2018, the slippers were finally recovered thanks to a sting operation by the FBI and Grand Rapids Police Department, leading to the indictment of Martin, who pleaded guilty to “theft of an object of cultural heritage from the care, custody, or control of a museum” last year.
At the time, the FBI claimed the fair market of the slippers had reached $3.5 million and returned them to Shaw.
In 2012, Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg paid $2 million for another pair of the slippers for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum.
The Judy Garland Museum hopes to acquire the slippers and bring them back home.
Earlier this year, a bill was introduced by Minnesota State senator Justin Eichorn to appropriate money to purchase the slippers and loan them back to the museum. The museum has received at least $100,000 from the state in the time since, but the current total is unknown, as the museum intends to keep that information private in order to maintain an edge during the auction.
In its auction description for the hat, Heritage notes, “This is the first time this Wicked Witch hat has reunited with Mr. Shaw's Ruby Slippers since the theft almost 20 years ago.”
Heritage previously sold the same hat in 2020 for $252,000. Multiple hats were made for production of the movie, though this specific example has been screen-matched to the scene in Munchkinland in which the witch is first introduced.
In July, Janie Heitz, executive director of the Judy Garland Museum, told cllct of the slippers: “We just think it would be a really great happy ending to this saga for them to find a home. … In 'The Wizard of Oz,' she's trying to find home. You know, it's kind of like this full circle story of 'let's bring these slippers home.'"
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.