Smithsonian Is Taking Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers Off Display This Month

[mahatmakanejeeves]

As much as I enjoy conspiracy theories, this was not ordered by *****. The shoes are going out for conservation. It's going to cost $300,000. I did not make that up.

Smithsonian Is Taking Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers Off Display This Month

by Christina Sturdivant in News on Apr 10, 2017 1:34 pm

“The Wizard of Oz” fans have less than two weeks to click their heels to the National Museum of American History to view a pair of red sequin slippers that Judy Garland wore in the 1939 film. ... The Smithsonian has announced that after raising enough money to conserve the exhibit, the iconic footwear won’t be on display after April 23. And they will be gone "for a significant period of time."

Though several pairs of slippers were made for the film, the size-five shoes are “well-worn, suggesting they were Garland's primary pair for dance sequences,” according to a Smithsonian release. ... The pair of shoes were donated in 1979, and officials say it’s one of the Smithsonian’s most popular artifacts.

Last fall, the institution launched the “Keep them Ruby” Kickstarter campaign with a $300,000 goal to restore shoes. The campaign page describes the slippers, which were constructed to last only during filming, as “fragile and actively deteriorating.” The coating on the sequins “that give the shoes their hallmark ruby color is flaking off its gelatin base,” plus some threads that hold sequins in place are broken, officials wrote.

In its first week, 5,360 people donated $301,311 to the campaign, CBS reported. About 1,100 backers later donated, putting the fund’s total at $349,026.

[KittyWampus]

1. I can think of several friends who made it a mission to go see those shoes.

Not my interest but they are iconic.

[Javaman]

2. There are several pairs in existence.

when I was working out in Hollywood, I would have to go to Western Costume from time to time.

they had a pair in their lobby under glass.

pretty neat

[cbdo2007]

3. One pair was stolen from the Judy Garland museum in Minnesota in 2005. Have never been found...

though there is a $1 Million reward for their return.

[Achilleaze]

4. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in America anymore." - Dot

"It makes me so sad, Toto. The republicans and russians have totally pissed all over truth, honesty, decency, integrity and American democracy. Sad." - Dot

[Achilleaze]

5. OMG