#42 • GROUP OF COLONEL HARLAND SANDERS HANDWRITTEN BUSINESS CONTACT AND TELEPHONE NOTES
Part of The Colonel Sanders Artifact Collection (live auction by The Menish Group Auction & Real Estate)
High bid $450.00
Status: Sold
Description Offered here is a group of handwritten memorandum sheets, telephone message slips, contact notes, and working office records believed to have been used by Colonel Harland Sanders during the operation and expansion of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The group includes handwritten names, addresses, telephone numbers, meeting references, business contacts, and miscellaneous working notes recorded on a variety of period memorandum forms and message slips. Several pieces reference Kentucky Fried Chicken operations, business associates, and individuals connected to Sanders' professional activities. The notes exhibit substantial evidence of active use and were clearly created as practical working documents rather than materials intended for preservation or public display. Historical Significance Ephemeral business records such as message slips, contact notes, and telephone memoranda rarely survive because they were generally discarded once their immediate purpose had been fulfilled. As a result, surviving examples provide an unusually direct glimpse into the day-to-day operations surrounding the growth of Kentucky Fried Chicken during one of the most important periods in the company's development. Rather than documenting major public events, these notes reflect the routine communications, contacts, and relationships that formed the foundation of Sanders' business activities. Story & Context While personal letters and signed photographs often attract attention from collectors, working documents such as these can provide a more authentic view of everyday life. These handwritten notes capture moments of ordinary business activity: phone calls returned, contacts recorded, meetings arranged, and relationships maintained. Together they illustrate the extensive network of individuals, franchise operators, suppliers, and business associates who interacted with Sanders as Kentucky Fried Chicken expanded throughout the United States and abroad. Preserved as part of the Sanders collection maintained by the Settle family, these documents survived not because they were intended as historical artifacts, but because they remained among the materials associated with Colonel Sanders and his business operations. Provenance From the preserved collection associated with Colonel Harland Sanders and Claudia Sanders, maintained by the Settle family following their acquisition of Blackwood Hall and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House directly from Colonel and Claudia Sanders in 1974.
