STUDIO INSCRIPTION: #7 JUDY GARLAND
DESCRIPTION: INSERT
SIZE: 5C
HEEL: THIN, LEATHER TOP LIFT
SOLE: NO FELT
INNES PRODUCTION NUMBERS: X 6802, 5C D 536
This pair was only used as an insert pair.
Visible:
On the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East
When the slippers first appear on Dorothy’s feet
Notable differences:
Both bows appear to have been made more neatly than others from production
The sequin layout and bows appear to be in better condition than other authentic pairs, likely from lack of use during production
Notes:
This pair is often attributed to being used in all insert shots, but that is untrue.
Kent Warner kept this pair for his personal collection because of his belief that they were the insert shoes.
Subsequent history:
This pair was kept by Kent Warner, the man that found all of the Ruby Slippers on the MGM lot (with the exception of the pair in the possession of Roberta Bauman). He kept them on display in an acrylic case in his apartment. By the late 1970's, Kent had boxed the slippers and kept them out of sight. He loaned this pair to fellow costume collector Bill Thomas, who showed them to people and said they were his, and that he had found them on the MGM lot in a "sea of green shoes." Kent sold the slippers at auction in 1981 for $12,000. The anonymous buyers offered the pair for sale immediately after news of Roberta Bauman's $165,000 slipper sale in 1988. Christie's handled the private sale, and offered the pair to Philip Samuels, a runner-up bidder for Roberta's pair. Philip loaned his slippers to the Smithsonian at least two times during his course of ownership. Philip retained ownership of the slippers until they were offered for auction through Profiles in History, where the reserve was not met. Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg, and Terry Semel were among the people who helped raise the funds for the slippers to be purchased and donated to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum.
Current location:
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum