"The Wizard of Oz" ruby slippers head to auction
(CBS) There's no place like home - and a pair of Dorothy Gale's ruby slippers will be getting a new home soon.
The glimmering shoes are set to be auctioned off on Dec. 16 as part of a Hollywood memorabilia sale, and are expected to fetch $2-3 million.
California auction house Profiles in History says the slippers - one of four known surviving pairs made for the iconic 1939 movie - are believed to be the pair Judy Garland wore when she clicked her heels three times to return to Kansas at the end of the film."This is the most important film prop in the world. There is nothing more famous," Profiles in History owner Joe Maddalena told Reuters. "They are one of the greatest pieces of pop culture in existence."
The auction house says the shoes are in mint condition, except for light scuffs on the soles. They are marked "#7 Judy Garland" on the inside lining and the leather soles are painted red.
The pair up for auction was reportedly found on the MGM lot in the early 1970s and was sold at auction in 1988 to a private collector. One of the other remaining pairs is on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of History in Washington, a second is in the hands of a private owner and the third was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in 2005.
Earlier this year, Reuters reports, a test pair of ruby slippers from actress Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood collection fetched $612,000 at auction.