Movie Memorabilia Fetch Record Prices : Ruby Slippers Walk Off for $165,000

The ruby slippers that carried Dorothy down the Yellow Brick Road in “The Wizard of Oz” have become a pot of gold. On Tuesday morning a pair of the fabled shoes worn by Judy Garland in the making of the classic 1939 film were sold by Christie’s East in New York City for $165,000, reportedly the highest sum ever paid for Hollywood movie memorabilia.

An anonymous man, describing himself as a “long-time fan of Judy Garland and the movie,” was the highest bidder in an auction described by Christie’s as “electric.” More than 400 people crowded the SRO room as 18 registered bidders went after the shoes. At least a dozen bid by phone.

“The place was packed, and when the bidding began it was dead silent,” said Julie Collier, supervisor of Christie’s collectibles division. “Mouths opened as the price went higher. At the final bid, everyone burst into applause.” The buyer immediately put a catalogue over his face, she said. “He was here in person. He doesn’t want it to be known where he’s from.”

The price ($150,000 plus 10% commission of $15,000) supersedes the previous Hollywood memorabilia record of $150,000 paid for Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat, floppy shoes and cane at Sotheby’s in London last fall.

The ruby slippers sold Tuesday were consigned by 65-year-old Roberta Jeffries Bauman of Memphis, Tenn. Bauman set an auction reserve of only $15,000 as her minimum selling price. Many Hollywood memorabilia specialists had anticipated a ceiling of $100,000.

“I was just kind of tightened up,” said Bauman by phone from her home. “I feel very peaceful and calm now. The finale of the auction is the way I hoped it would end.”

Bauman was 16--Dorothy’s age--when she received the shoes in February, 1940, as a prize for picking the 10 best movies of 1939. The slippers were used by MGM for promotion of the movie, then given to Bauman for winning second place in the contest sponsored by the national Four Star Club. (First prize was the gavel from “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”)

Bauman has been the sole owner of the shoes for all this time. She thought she had the only pair until May, 1970, when another pair sold for $15,000 at the historic MGM auction.

Though five pairs are known to exist, evidence suggests there may be seven. Bauman’s slippers are the only ones not shrouded in mystery. The other pairs were discovered by Hollywood costumer Kent Warner before the MGM auction in 1970. He gave one pair to MGM auctioneers and sold the others for personal profit. Warner died in 1984, an apparent victim of AIDS.

The size 6B slippers sold at auction Tuesday, designed by Adrian and worn by Garland in many of her dancing scenes along the Yellow Brick Road, were likely the second or third pair made by Western Costume in 1938. The word double is written on the kid leather lining of each shoe. Including materials and labor, Western Costume spokeswoman Sally Nelson Harb estimated Tuesday that the shoes cost about $20 a pair to make in 1938. When told they had sold for $165,000, she said, “My God, it’s astounding.”

Ironically, the auction came on the eve of the 19th anniversary of Garland’s death, who died June 22, 1969. It is said that Garland never owned nor wished to own a pair of the ruby slippers. All the ruby slippers range between sizes 5B and 6B; the smaller-sized were used for close-ups, the larger for actual dancing.

Bauman said she “hopes that (the new owner) will show the shoes to this generation of children and keep the story alive. I hope that he will in some way pick up where I left off.” Was she sad about selling the shoes that have been in her family for half a century? “Why should I be sad? This is the happiest time in my life, but I didn’t know I was going to get this happy.”