Heading Down the Yellow Brick Road: The Smithsonian Launches Kickstarter for Ruby Slippers Project (photos)

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History on Monday Oct. 17 launched its Kickstarter Campaign to fund the conservation and display of one its most popular and treasured holdings, a pair of Ruby Slippers worn by a sixteen-year-old Judy Garland in the 1939 move “The Wizard of Oz”. The Kickstarter goal of $300,000 will be used in part for a state of the art display case to protect them from environmental harm, and slow their deterioration for the enjoyment of generations to come. Future plans call for the Ruby Slippers to be moved inside a new exhibition on American popular culture, scheduled to open in 2018.

The public can contribute to the project by visiting the Kickstarter page at [si.edu/kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smithsonian/conserve-dorothys-ruby-slippers) and can follow the campaign on social media by using the hashtag #KeepThemRuby. The campaign ends on November 16.

The size 5 Ruby Slippers on display were not unique. They come from among several pair produced by MGM’s chief costume designer Gilbert Adrian. The Smithsonian pair are well worn, suggesting they were Judy Garland’s principal pair for dancing scenes. The felt on the bottom of the shoes lessened the noise they made on plywood sets. The shoes in the collection were purchased at an MGM auction for $15,000 and were subsequently given to the Smithsonian by an anonymous donor.

In L Frank Baum’s original 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, Dorothy’s magical slippers were silver colored. However the producers at MGM decided to change their color to take full advantage of the new Technicolor film process. The iridescent ruby red color it was thought would show up more vividly against the Yellow Brick Road. Like most movie props, the Ruby Slippers were not built to last and the color has changed over time to a darker shade of auburn. A goal of the restoration process will be to restore the colors as much as possible to the original while maintaining the integrity of the materials. The man in charge of the restoration will be Richard Barden, the museum’s preservationist, who will work inside a secure laboratory in the museum’s basement. The more than 2000 sequins on each shoe will be inspected and cleaned with the aid of state-of-the-art microscopes.

Tony Award winning Broadway costume designer William Ivey Long has created a custom Ruby Slippers design for backers of the project. Posters, decals, tote bags and t-shirts will be rewarded for contributions of $10-$100. A signed “hand-glitterized” poster signed by Long can be had for a $500 contribution. Custom hand-crafted and hand-sewn replicas of the slippers by Randy Struthers will be available to individuals who donate $7,000 or more to the campaign. The first Smithsonian Kickstarter last year raised over $700,000 to conserve Neil Armstrong’s moon walk spacesuit from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.

*View Jeff Malet’s photos from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History by clicking on the photo icons below.*