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A comprehensive collection of personal artifacts chronicling the life of one of America’s most recognizable restaurateurs, including his former home and restaurant, is up for auction.
From his iconic bow tie to an original cash register, Americana aficionados have the opportunity to snag some of the items that made Colonel Harland Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken a global household name.
Here’s what you should know about the auction and Sanders’ legacy.
Bow tie, record player, butcher block and more
The Menish Group, an auction and real estate firm based in Louisville, Kentucky, is auctioning what it describes as “a remarkable collection of personal artifacts, memorabilia, documents, furnishings, and historical objects associated with Colonel Harland Sanders and Claudia Sanders,” his wife.
Pre-bidding is available and will culminate in a live auction held in Shelbyville, roughly 30 miles east of Louisville, on the evening of July 28.
All told, the auction contains 71 items that belonged to or were associated with Sanders, including one of his iconic black bow ties, a 16mm KFC promotional video produced in 1965, Sanders’ personal briefcase, commercial stove, several Bibles and his record player.
Pre-bids for a bust of Sanders created by his daughter reached $4,720 on July 28, while his personal carving knife set was priced at $800. One of his iconic black bowties was going for $4,400 and an original butcher block hit for $2,150.
More than a ‘collection of objects’
Also up for auction are Sanders’ former residence, dubbed Blackwood Hall, as well as his post-KFC restaurant, the Claudia Sanders Dinner House. Sealed bids for the two properties will be available through July 31.
“This is not simply a collection of objects,” the Menish Group wrote on the auction site. “It is a preserved chapter of American entrepreneurial, hospitality, and Kentucky history being offered to the public for the first time.”
According to the Menish Group, the items, many of which have never been seen by the public, “were preserved through decades of stewardship by the Settle family, close friends of the Sanders’, who acquired Blackwood Hall and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House directly from Mr. and Mrs. Sanders.”
From a roadside motel to international fame
Sanders first started selling his fried chicken out of a Kentucky roadside motel in 1930, according to KFC’s official website.
However, it wasn’t until 1950 that the “character” of Colonel Sanders would take shape, when he donned his iconic white suit for the first time, according to the brand’s website. From then on, Sanders wore the suit every time he was in public.
He went on to become one of the earliest adopters of the franchise model, leasing out the Kentucky Fried Chicken name to restaurant owners across the country beginning in 1952.
The model proved so successful that in 1964, Sanders sold the KFC Company to a group of investors while staying on as the public face of the chain. According to a New York Times article from September 1976, Sanders was bringing in $200,000 a year “to do advertising and public relations” for the brand.
“Colonel Sanders was more than a restaurateur. He was a businessman, inventor, educator, franchising pioneer, and global ambassador for the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” the Menish Group said. “His image became one of the most recognizable in the world, while his business practices helped shape the modern franchise industry.”
Drew Pittock covers national trending news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at DPittock@usatodayco.com.