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The Mona Lisa of Memorabilia

The market for pop-cultural artifacts has never been hotter. For some time, there’s been a growing fixation on sports memorabilia and rock god guitars, but the runaway sale of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers brought the point home: When it comes to memorabilia, we’re not in Kansas anymore.

judy garland ruby slippers
There’s another piece to the slippers’ allure, of course: They were stolen almost 20 years ago. Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Marion Maneker
December 16, 2024

If you watch the highlights of last week’s auction for the stolen ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz, it’s hard not to be startled by the raucous bidding. At one point, the auctioneer waves off a $4.8 million bid that’s just been overrun by two other competing bids with an angry, “I’ve got $4.9, it wouldn’t have mattered.” And that was just the beginning of the run. There were still 10 bidders above $5 million, eventually winnowing down to the final bid of $28 million. The buyer will pay an astounding $32.5 million with fees.