Notes

Dorothy Costume Finds Its Way Back to Catholic University
Dorothy is known for her ruby slippers as well as her dog Toto, but her simple blue gingham pinafore costume is also a classic film icon. The dress of the heroine flashes on screen as the tornado moves her from sepia Kansas to Technicolor Oz. This has captured the attention of viewers for a long time. The dress's design and its popularity has created a cottage industry of collectors who want everything related to the film from Dorothy's basket to her ruby slippers.


For years the dress was hidden away in Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) Studios Archive. The estimate for the presale put its value at $800,000 to $1.2 million. Bonhams sold an outfit with a blouse Garland was wearing underneath for $1.5m in 2015.


Last summer, while the department of drama at Catholic University was cleaning its offices for a building upgrade lecturer Matt Ripa came across a trash bag full of the gown, hidden over faculty mailboxes in theater department's office. "I'd heard that it existed and that Father Hartke had given it to the school, but I had never imagined that it would surface," Ripa tells CNN.


The university contacted experts in memorabilia Ryan Lintelman, who told the students that the latest discovery was authentic. He claimed it had many features of other dresses created by MGM's chief designer Gilbert Adrian: a secret pocket inside where Garland kept her handkerchief; the actress's name written on it with her own handwriting; and a rickrack trim that appears in other costumes in the film.


A spokesperson for the school states that it is looking for additional documents to confirm the authenticity of the dress and its authenticity. The university is also looking into ways to preserve it.


The most expensive costume from The Wizard of Oz isn't the gown. This honor goes to the Cowardly Lion's costume that was sold for $3 million in the year 2014.


dorothycostume of the dress at the college has brought back fascination for the film and its souvenirs. However, it's unclear how the dress got there. It's possible that the dress was gifted by Garland's niece, who was a longtime professor at the university or the estate of late Dominican Father Hartke.


The college will auction the dress in order to raise funds to fund its film acting courses as well as endow faculty chairs. Barbara Ann Hartke is the niece of Dominican Father Hartke. She has filed a suit alleging that the school took the dress with no permission from the will of her uncle.


The MGM-designed Dorothy costume is one of six that were worn by Garland during filming as per an affidavit of the Dominican Friars Province to which Hartke was a member. It's not clear what the lawsuit could do to the university's plans for the dress. A hearing is set for November.


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