The dress worn by Judy Garland when she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Ozhas sold at auction for a record £140,000.
A packed Bonhams' auction room in Knightsbridge, London, burst into applause when the dress sold for more than four times the amount it was estimated to go for.
The blue and white gingham cotton dress now goes down as the most expensive costume item sold at auction.
It was bought by a London businessman as a 32nd birthday present for his wife - a huge Wizard of Oz fan.
Ironically, she was also a bidder at the auction. Unaware that her husband was also present, she thought she had missed out on the dress. He later surprised her over dinner with a note identifying him as the buyer.
She said: " I feel so strange today, it's like meeting a very important person - I still can't quite believe it! I am probably one of the biggest fans of the film and of Judy Garland - it evokes such happy childhood memories for me."
The Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy Gale who is swept away by a tornado to the land of Oz and meets characters including the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow during her quest to find the Wizard and return home to Kansas.
Source
A packed Bonhams' auction room in Knightsbridge, London, burst into applause when the dress sold for more than four times the amount it was estimated to go for.
The blue and white gingham cotton dress now goes down as the most expensive costume item sold at auction.
It was bought by a London businessman as a 32nd birthday present for his wife - a huge Wizard of Oz fan.
Ironically, she was also a bidder at the auction. Unaware that her husband was also present, she thought she had missed out on the dress. He later surprised her over dinner with a note identifying him as the buyer.
She said: " I feel so strange today, it's like meeting a very important person - I still can't quite believe it! I am probably one of the biggest fans of the film and of Judy Garland - it evokes such happy childhood memories for me."
The Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy Gale who is swept away by a tornado to the land of Oz and meets characters including the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow during her quest to find the Wizard and return home to Kansas.
Source
