The pair coming up for auction have not been on display. They were originally owned by Kent Warner. He's the guy who organized the first big MGM auction back in the early 1970s, when they sold off much of their studio backlot and the majority of the props and costumes still in existence. Kent was in charge of getting everything ready for the big sale ... and in doing so, he managed to "lose" a few items. You have to remember, nobody thought much about this stuff back then. They even considered trashing much of it, and they definitely didn't know what they had in storage. Inventories were inaccurate, incomplete, and even nonexistent in many cases.
So Kent went in and organized it all and was paid very little to do it (well, except for his own self-granted "perks"). When he found the Ruby Slippers, it's said by most connected with the occasion (which isn't a firm confirmation) that he found four pairs, plus the Arabian Shoes (a test pair he sold to Debbie Reynolds that recently went up for auction and fetched $550,000).
One pair was clearly the wrong size (too big--Size 7) and was identified as the pair worn by Judy's stand-in, Bobbie Koshay. Bobbie actually appears in the movie in a couple of shots, most notably when Dorothy first opens the door into Munchkinland (no red shoes in that one) and when she is lifted into the air by the flying monkeys. It's Bobbie being hoisted up, kicking and screaming, and you can see her pair of shoes in that shot.
Kent sold one pair of the "real" Ruby Slippers work by Judy (size 5.5) to Michael Shaw before the auction for $2,500. Kent pocketed the money, and the shoes were never catalogued. The second pair were the ones that came up for the MGM auction, and those are the ones currently in the Smithsonian. They sold for $15,000 at the sale, a record price back then. An interesting fact: Michael Shaw's pair and the Smithsonian pair are actually mismatched sets. They have "serial numbers" stamped on the inside, and Michael's left shoe matches the Smithsonian's right, and vice-versa. They look slightly different, too. One has a larger toe and the bow is positioned slightly higher.
... which leads me to the stolen shoes, which have not been recovered. The statute of limitations is quickly running out. And according to authorities, they're not likely to be found. They were stolen from the Judy Garland museum (while on loan for an annual festival) in her home town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. It's a small town, and the police think whoever took them most likely trashed them or "got rid of" them (aka at the bottom of a river or something). They have exhausted all leads, and the case is essentially closed. Keep in mind, these shoes could never be sold in public. They would be instantly identified. It's like stealing a famous work of art. You have to basically keep it hidden forever or turn it in. Don't even think of showing it to anyone.
The two mismatched pairs (Michael's and the Smithsonian's) are considered the pairs used the most on-screen during filming. They both have orange felt on the soles. This was to muffle the sounds of Judy's footsteps while they were recording sound.
The final pair that Kent found, the one coming up for auction in December, was the pair he kept for himself. They were supposedly in perfect, pristine condition. Not one sequin out of place. They had no felt on their soles, and it's now been established that this pair was used only for the close-up shots, primarily five big ones: they were on the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East sticking out from under the house; when Judy tilts her shoes to the camera after she first acquires them; when she presents them to the guard at the Emerald City for proof that the good witch sent her, when the Wicked Witch of the West tries to take them from her and is "shocked"; and when she clicks them 3 times to go home. They have only light scuff marks on the leather soles, including circular marks toward the toes, apparently caused by the movement of clicking them together (fascinating!). These had no felt, because it would have been seen on camera, particularly when sticking out from under the house.
But wait, kids, that's not all! A couple of decades ago, ANOTHER pair was found and authenticated. This pair was won in a sweepstakes contest back in 1939, so Kent never saw them, and they were never stored at MGM. All the documentation of the publicity giveaway plus the photos taken, at the time, of the shoes with the owner have proven that they were a "real" pair. They also have the felt on their soles and similar wear and tear to those owned by Michael Shaw and the Smithsonian. They are the last pair ever to hit the auction block, and sold for $666,000 back in 2000. No other pairs have been sold (except for the test pair) in the past eleven years.
So it's a total of five pairs of screen-worn Ruby Slippers, plus the Arabian test pair.
1. Smithsonian (an anonymous bidder won them at the MGM sale and donated them to the Smithsonian)
2. Michael Shaw (stolen)
3. Kent Warner close-up pair (currently owned by Philip Samuels of St. Louis, and coming up for auction in December)
4. MGM Giveaway pair (currently owned by David Elkouby in Los Angeles)
5. Stand-in shoes (don't know who currently owns them)
Disney had the ones Roberta Bauman won in the 1939 contest. She sold them (via auction) to Anthony Landini (for $165,000), and he's the one who loaned them to Disney. When he sold the shoes in 2000 (for $600,000), they were bought by Mr. Elkouby, the current owner.
