The REAL Ruby Slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' for sale- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 12:08pm

The pair that sold from the auction mentioned in this thread (to Leonardo Di Caprio and friends) was donated to the Motion Picture Academy Museum and were on display with their recent (truly incredible) Hollywood Costumes exhibit. I saw it last November (2014), and they had the shoes in a glass case that was embedded in a wall! It was the very last thing in the exhibit before you rounded the corner and went into the gift shop (naturally).

 

Those shoes were dimly lit as well, but they would fade up an eerie red light on them every minute or so, and they looked fantastic. I thought the red  was great because it also likely doesn't hurt the shoes or the metallic sequins which have oxidized to the point of losing their shine over the past 75 years. I figured it was similar to a photo development lab. Red is good for that.

 

Maybe the Smithsonian could do something similar with a red light to help "pump up the magic" a bit for visitors.  

 

EDIT: They also had one of Judy's authentic gingham jumpers not too far from the "real" shoes, and her jumper had a pair of replica shoes under the mannequin ... which looked cool, but I thought it was a bit odd, since you could turn your head to the right and see a "real" pair about 15 feet away. Oh, and there was a museum guard by the exit as well, right by the shoes.

Updated On: 12/11/15 at 12:08 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 12:14pm

I saw that exhibit as well and thought the lighting effect was brilliant!

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 12:14pm

Here's a cool picture that shows both of them: the gingham jumper in the background and the ruby slippers in front. They were not out in the open like this when I saw it. They were embedded in the wall, just behind it.

 

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 1:12pm

Me, too. But that's a great pic.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 3:52pm

Here, btw, is a pic I took of the dress the day before the auction at Bonhams:

 

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 4:27pm

Wonderful photo, Reg! And that one has an original blouse. The one from the Hollywood exhibit had a replica blouse.

 

 

EDIT: And the blouse hasn't faded either. They were always off-white because of the bright Technicolor lights. They couldn't use pure white anywhere on sets or costumes.

Updated On: 12/11/15 at 04:27 PM