Collectiblog

I know most of us still have turkey on the brain (or at least around our waistlines), but I thought it was an appropriate time to discuss one of my favorite icons of the poultry world; Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Believe it or not, there's a lot more to collecting KFC than an original recipe leg, thigh and slaw combo. There are a whole bucketful of collectibles that range from paper goods made for the restaurants to licensed toys, promotional items and premiums featuring the face of the beloved Colonel Harlan Sanders.

The story is now legendary; the 40-year-old Kentucky resident began selling pressure-cooked chicken in 1930 to road-weary travelers passing through his state. His real moment of brilliance was in 1952, when he sold his first franchise in Salt Lake City and put his now unmistakable image on the packaging. The chain grew and within a decade, the Kentucky Colonel was a national icon, appearing on thousands of boxes, buckets and wet naps from coast to coast.

The early boxes are easy to spot. They have a sort of salmon-colored strip with a color illustration of the disembodied head of Colonel Sanders. Each container also announced "It's finger licking good" and the words "So tasty, so tender," among other things. The earliest boxes also had the lyrics to "My Old Kentucky Home" on the back. Collectors of fast-food-iana would probably gravitate toward collecting the various classic packaging elements: the box, the bucket, the napkin, the potato and the coleslaw containers, with the original graphics. There were also bucket-shaped lamps in the early days, as well as the Colonel's face wall clock and little buckets filled with matches given out at the stores. Statues of the Colonel were made available to the outlets, but you'd have to be a really hardcore KFC collector to want one for your own collection -- I know I wouldn't turn one away if it landed on my doorstep.

More traditional KFC collectibles include a variety of Colonel Sanders Nodders made over the years, figural salt and pepper shakers, banks and ceramic cookie jars. I happen to be quite fond of the various plastic food sets that have turned up over the years. Equally as amusing were the three different Christmas records I know of ( "Christmas With Colonel Sanders," "Christmas Eve With Colonel Sanders" and "Christmas Day With Colonel Sanders" ), all from the mid '50s to '60s. I don't have any of those, but a friend made me a copy of the '70s promotional LP with several variations of the very popular "Get a Bucket of Chicken" jingle written by Barry Manilow.

There have been many KFC items manufactured over the years, many of which are on display at the Kentucky Fried Chicken Museum in Louisville, Ky. The museum is housed in the headquarters of Yum Foods, KFC's current owner. The building is appropriately designed as a Southern plantation and was constructed on the site of the very first restaurant opened by Harlan Sanders.

It's especially interesting to see the evolution of the KFC logo and the image of the Colonel himself. Harlan Sanders was already 60 years old when his face became an American icon, though today he looks pretty hot -- even without the steaming chicken in his bucket. His 2006 graphic facelift was a big success, and is sweeping franchises around the world. His face can also be found on a new, insulated picnic bag sold with various chicken combos. The next year should hold some more interesting variations as the company has announced a planned switch to Kentucky Grilled Chicken, making the old packaging even more collectible to those seekers of Kentucky Fried nostalgia.

The holiday season may be all about the bigger stuffed bird, but if you're looking for a barrel of fun, say goodbye to the gobblers and hello to the Colonel.