Ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ are on the market practically 2 a long time after they have been stolen

On-line bidding has began and can proceed by way of Dec. 7, Heritage Auctions in Dallas introduced in a information launch Monday.

The public sale firm obtained the sequin-and-bead-bedazzled slippers from Michael Shaw, the memorabilia collector who initially owned the footwear on the coronary heart of the beloved 1939 musical. Shaw had loaned the sneakers in 2005 to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

That summer season, somebody smashed by way of a show case and stole the slippers. Their whereabouts remained a thriller till the FBI recovered them in 2018.

Now the museum is amongst these vying for the slippers, which have been one in every of a number of pairs Garland wore through the filming. Solely 4 stay.

Grand Rapids raised cash for the slippers at its annual Judy Garland competition. The funds will complement the $100,000 put aside this yr by Minnesota lawmakers to buy the slippers.

The person who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, was 76 when he was sentenced in January to time served due to his poor well being. He admitting to utilizing a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and show case in what his legal professional stated was an try to tug off “one final rating” after an outdated affiliate with connections to the mob informed him the sneakers needed to be adorned with actual jewels to justify their $1 million insured worth.

The public sale of film memorabilia contains different gadgets from “The Wizard of Oz,” resembling a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Depraved Witch of the West and the display screen door from Dorothy’s Kansas dwelling.

This text was generated from an automatic information company feed with out modifications to textual content.