A collection of personal items owned by Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, is going under the hammer. The auction includes his signature black bow tie, a personal pressure cooker, luxury watches, custom cutlery, an original cash register, a bust sculpted by his daughter and a commercial gas range.
Also on offer is the Shelbyville estate Sanders established as the first official headquarters for KFC in the late 1950s. The property, which he sold in 1974 to Tommy and Cherry Settle, includes the 5,000-square-foot residence Blackwood Hall and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House.
Bidding on the Colonel's Bow Tie Climbs
The Menish Group, led by auctioneer Bill Menish, is handling the sale. Menish described the worldwide response to the collection, saying: "Colonel Sanders was the original celebrity chef. The feedback has been worldwide, so we needed to have an auction that would cater to that worldwide audience."
Menish also credited Sanders as a "marketing genius" who shaped his well-known image. "He didn’t dress like that before he was starting to build Kentucky Fried Chicken. He adopted the colonel: the clothes, the bow tie, the glasses, the goatee," he said.
Fans have already shown strong interest in the brand founder's signature style. Pre-bidding for one of his black bow ties has topped $2,000. Auctioneer Jonathan Klunk added a little-known detail: "Not a lot of people know, he did wear clip-ons."
Sanders sold KFC to investors in 1964 but remained the face of the company for years afterwards.
Handwritten Recipe Note Sparked Lawsuit
Among the most notable items is a personal 1964 planner containing a handwritten recipe for herbs and spices. The note caused a legal dispute in the early 2000s when KFC Corp. sought to keep the planner out of public view. The case was dropped after tests indicated the ingredients were likely for a festive stuffing, not the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.
