The hat worn by Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West onscreen in the original Wizard of Oz film, is being sold by Heritage Auctions next month. The minimum bid is $100,000. The pointy black hat was created by the mononymous costume designer Adrian, who worked on dozens of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films in the 1930s and ‘40s, the most famous of which was The Wizard of Oz.
Hamilton’s hat is part of a large cache of items that will be auctioned off on Dec. 9-10. Of the other 300-odd lots, nine are related to The Wizard of Oz. In addition to Hamilton’s hat, there is a copy of L. Frank Baum’s book, signed by the cast of the movie (including a pawprint of the dog who played Toto), with a starting bid of $250,000; a pillbox-style wool hat worn by one of the Scarecrow groomers ($10,000); the blouse worn by Judy Garland, who played Dorothy, which is being sold with a gingham dress, which was part of a touring ensemble of movie garments ($20,000); and a red silk shoe worn by Garland during film rehearsals ($25,000).
Heritage Auctions sold Garland’s ruby slippers last year for $32 million, way above its $3 million estimate. As detailed in Artnet, that pair has a fascinating history. They were owned by collector Michael Shaw, who lent them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich. They were stolen from the museum in 2005 and recovered with help from the FBI 13 years later. (The rehearsal slipper from next month’s Heritage sale is also from the Michael Shaw Collection.)
