SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) 鈥� KFC founder ‘ pressure cooker, black bow tie and dozens of other personal items are up for public auction, along with his former home and a dinner house Sanders opened after selling his iconic restaurant chain.
Harland Sanders, still known as the face of the worldwide chain originally known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, established the Shelbyville property as the first headquarters of his restaurant business in the late 1950s. He sold the property, which included his home and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, in 1974 to Tommy and Cherry Settle, who have run the restaurant since then.
鈥淐olonel Sanders was the original celebrity chef,鈥� said Bill Menish, whose firm, The Menish Group, is conducting . 鈥淭he feedback has been worldwide, so we needed to have an auction that would cater to that worldwide audience.鈥�
Online pre-bidding concludes with a live, in-person auction for the Sanders memorabilia on Tuesday evening. Sealed bids for the restaurant and Sanders鈥� former 5,000-square-foot (465 square-meter) home, which he named Blackwood Hall, will be taken until Friday.
Sanders鈥� personal watches, an original cash register, his cutlery set, a bust sculpted by his daughter and a commercial gas range from the colonel’s former residence are among the items up for bidding.
Sanders sold KFC in 1964 to a group of investors, but continued as a brand ambassador for the company.
Menish called Sanders a 鈥渕arketing genius鈥� for creating the character of the colonel.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 dress like that before he was starting to build Kentucky Fried Chicken,鈥� Menish said. 鈥淗e adopted the colonel: the clothes, the bow tie, the glasses, the goatee.鈥�
One of the most intriguing pieces could be a personal 1964 planner with a handwritten herbs and spices recipe that was later the subject of an early 2000s lawsuit filed by the KFC Corp. to keep the contents private. KFC later dropped the legal action, saying after reviewing the planner the ingredients didn鈥檛 match Sanders’ secret blend of , and it was likely a recipe for stuffing.
鈥淲hat a keepsake,鈥� Menish said.
One of Sanders’ signature black bow ties is also up for auction. The highest online bid for the tie was more than $2,000 on Monday.
Auctioneer Jonathan Klunk said there’s a little-known secret behind the bow tie.
鈥淣ot a lot of people know, he did wear clip-ons,鈥� Klunk said.
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