Personal items belonging to KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders, including his signature black bow tie and a pressure cooker, are among the offerings in an upcoming public auction. The auction also includes his former home and a dinner house he opened after selling the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain.
Harland Sanders established the Shelbyville, Kentucky property as the initial headquarters for his restaurant business in the late 1950s. He sold the property, which comprised his home and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, in 1974. The purchasers, Tommy and Cherry Settle, have operated the restaurant since that time.
Bill Menish of The Menish Group, the firm conducting the auction, described Sanders as the "original celebrity chef" and noted that interest in the items has been global. The auction will feature an online pre-bidding period concluding with a live, in-person event for the memorabilia on Tuesday evening. Sealed bids for the restaurant and Sanders’ former 5,000-square-foot home, named Blackwood Hall, will be accepted until Friday.
Items available for bidding include Sanders' personal watches, an original cash register, his cutlery set, a bust sculpted by his daughter, and a commercial gas range from his former residence. Sanders sold KFC in 1964 but continued as a brand ambassador.
Menish characterized Sanders as a "marketing genius" for developing the Colonel Sanders persona, noting that Sanders adopted the distinctive attire, including the bow tie, glasses, and goatee, specifically for building the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand.
A 1964 personal planner containing a handwritten recipe for herbs and spices is also part of the auction. This planner was the subject of a lawsuit filed by KFC Corp. in the early 2000s to keep its contents private. The company later withdrew the suit, stating that the recipe did not match the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and was likely for stuffing.
One of Sanders' black bow ties had received an online bid of more than $2,000 as of Monday. Auctioneer Jonathan Klunk shared that Sanders wore clip-on bow ties.