‘Gone With The Wind’ Outfit Sold, Scarlett O’Hara’s Dress Goes For $137,000 At Auction [Video]

Once purchased for a mere handful of dollars, the famous Gone With The Wind outfit has sold at auction, with Scarlett O’Hara’s dress going for an amazing $137,000.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, a working German “Enigma” code machine from World War II sold at auction for a record-breaking price. Oddly enough, Pope Francis’ iPad also sold at auction, and what it revealed was interesting.

Collector James Tumblin used to work at Universal Studios, and he came upon the Gone With The Wind outfit during the early 1960s while doing research at a costume company.

“I saw this dress on the floor and a docent told me not to bother to pick it up, because they were throwing it away,” he said, according to the Telegraph. “I asked if he would sell it to me. I had noticed there was a printed label saying Selznick International Pictures and ‘Scarlett production dress’ was written in ink.”

Amazingly enough, the collector managed to snag Scarlett O’Hara’s dress for a mere $20. Tumblin’s collection continued to grow over the years, and now Heritage Auctions sold the Gone With The Wind outfit, along with many other items.

This is how Scarlett O’Hara’s dress from 1939 was described by the auction.

“Two-piece ensemble; the jacket slate blue-gray ribbed cotton (now faded to light gray), black ‘zig zag’ appliqué and cord adornment on the collar, shoulders, front, and cuffs, nine decorative buttons on front, hidden hook-and-eye front closure, gray silk lining (possibly replaced later); matching full skirt, pleated, same black zig-zag appliqué and cord design on waistband, front, and hem, eight snap back closure with further hidden hooks, inside hem lining replaced later; no labels present on either piece; worn by the actress as ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ in four pivotal scenes: when she’s dictating how the ‘Wilkes & Kennedy’ sign is being placed on the building, when she encounters ‘Rhett Butler’ [Clark Gable] in the ‘What a woman!’ scene, when she gets attacked in Shanty Town, and then when she’s at home as her husband ‘Frank Kennedy’ [Carroll Nye] decides to take some action; purchased by the current owner directly at Western Costume Company in Los Angeles. (Please note there is staining, fading, snagging, and rips throughout costume and parts of it are somewhat threadbare; some of the garment was purposely distressed for the scene, other condition issues are due to age.)”

Originally, when actress Vivien Leigh wore the Gone With The Wind outfit, it was a blue-gray color. Scarlett O’Hara’s dress has since faded to a light gray from time, but the winning bidder did not care, since it went for $137,000.

[Image via Heritage Auctions]