Want To Own a Piece of Colonel Sanders History?
You missed out on his datebook, but you can still snag his longtime home and the former KFC headquarters.
“I’ve only had two rules. Do all you can and do it the best you can.” That’s a quote attributed to KFC founder and forever frontman Colonel Harland Sanders — and perhaps it was also the guiding principle of the people bidding on his property this week at what was billed as a “historic auction of Colonel Harland Sanders’ personal collection.”
More than 500 collectors, historians, entrepreneurs and KFC fans from all over the world bid online and in person on more than 100 artifacts from Colonel Sanders’ life and career, sold across 74 lots, in an auction that ultimately generated nearly $300,000 in sales. The auction was held on Tuesday, July 28, at the Claudia Sanders Dinner House restaurant in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
But don’t worry, you still have a chance to own a big piece of Colonel Sanders’ property and legacy.
What’s special about this auction?
Ahead of the event, the auctioneers promised “one of the most comprehensive collections of personal Colonel Harland Sanders memorabilia ever brought to public auction.” Many of the items auctioned off originated from the home in which Colonel Sanders and his wife Claudia lived for about 25 years, Blackwood Hall. Franchise owners from around the globe also traveled there to learn cooking techniques, hospitality standards and business practices directly from the Colonel.
The artifacts from Blackwood Hall and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House restaurant, which formerly served as the KFC headquarters, were offered for sale by the family that bought both properties from Colonel and Claudia Sanders in 1974 — “on the very property where Colonel and Claudia Sanders lived, worked, entertained guests and shaped the final chapter of their legacy,” the auction house overseeing the sale, the Menish Group Auction & Real Estate, says.
"These are not items assembled by a collector," says auctioneer Bill Menish in a statement. “They are artifacts preserved by the family who were hand selected to purchase the Colonel's home and business directly from Colonel and Claudia Sanders more than fifty years ago. Together they tell a story few people have ever had the opportunity to see.”
What were the highlights of the auction?
The auction’s marquee item was Colonel Sanders' Personal Handwritten Datebook and Working Planner, which fetched $30,000. That sounds like a lot for a datebook, but the planner was actually the Colonel’s personal working notebook in 1964. In it, he jotted observations and business notes and detailed expenses, travel plans, meals and other daily activities. The auctioneers also have hinted (but not said explicitly) that it may have shed light on KFC’s secret recipe.
“A handwritten page in the planner, listing eleven ingredients and their associated measurements, later attracted significant public attention, becoming the subject of widespread media coverage and legal review,” they coyly note. “Regardless of interpretation, the page contributed to the planner's notoriety and historical significance within the broader story of Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken.”
Other big sellers included the following:
- Kentucky Colonel Commission Certificate Awarded to Harland Sanders (1955): $23,000
- Colonel Harland Sanders' Personal Mondia Stellaris Automatic Wristwatch: $20,000
- Colonel Harland Sanders' Personal Mirro-Matic Pressure Cooker: $11,500
- United States Patent Office Publication, “Process of Producing Fried Chicken Under Pressure”: $10,000
- Colonel Harland Sanders' Personal Bow Tie and Suspenders: $8,000
- Colonel Harland Sanders' Personal Masonic Ring with Inscription, 10k Gold: $8,000
- Colonel Harland Sanders Bust by His Daughter, Margaret Sanders, with Original Sculptor's Mold: $6,500
- Framed Kentucky Fried Chicken “Fried Chicken in a Box” Advertising Sign: $6,500
- Pair of Framed White House Letters to Colonel Harland Sanders Signed by President Richard Nixon: $5,000
"The response exceeded our expectations," Menish says.
What is still available?
Basically the biggest thing. You can still submit a sealed bid to purchase the Claudia Sanders Dinner House restaurant, Blackwood Hall and associated business assets. The lot includes the operating restaurant business, furniture, fixtures and equipment, intellectual property, trademark rights, goodwill and related assets. You can view the property listing here.
Bids will be accepted until midnight on Friday, July 31.
“The offering represents a rare opportunity to acquire two properties directly tied to the Sanders legacy,” the auction house says.
Will there be any more memorabilia for sale?
There might be. The auction house says that, due to the success of this July 28 auction, it is planning to offer additional Colonel Sanders-related historical artifacts for auction in an online-only format.
If you happen to have “historically significant” Sanders-related memorabilia to sell, you can submit it for consideration to be auctioned at ClaudiaSandersAuction.com or by contacting the auctioneers Bill Menish at bill@themenishgroup.com or Jonathan Klunk at jonathan@gokeysource.com.
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