Early Garland recordings fail to sell

12/18/2006 4:06 PM, AP


A pair of records made by Judy Garland as a child from her first studio recording session have failed to sell at auction.

The top bid Sunday for the acetate discs recorded in March 1935 was $22,500, failing to reach the minimum amount, said Levi Morgan, a spokesman for auctioneer Bonhams & Butterfields.

The auction house had expected the records to fetch between $30,000 and $40,000.

"Clearly, there was interest, but perhaps Christmas shoppers didn't want to dig too deep into their pockets," Morgan said Monday.

The records, which have never been heard in public, feature renditions of four songs sung by 12-year-old Garland in her early vaudeville shows including "Bill" from the Broadway musical "Showboat." They also contain a medley of "Good Ship Lollypop," "Object of My Affections" and "Dinah."

The seller, who remains anonymous, discovered the records in 1960 while clearing out her Beverly Hills home where Garland once lived, according to Bonhams. It's unknown whether the records were the originals or whether they were pressed for Garland's personal collection.

Morgan said Bonhams might work with private collectors to broker a deal for the records by the end of the year.

Born Frances Gumm, Garland's career began at age 2 and continued until her death in 1969. Her film credits include "The Wizard of Oz," "For Me and My Gal" and "Meet Me in St. Louis."

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