exceptionally rare vintage double-sided polychrome lithographed steel "colonel sanders" exterior weathervane with original directionals. unlike the majority of these signs, this weathervane exhibits very little surface rust. the colors remain vibrant. the solid steel cane is original and intact. fabricated by the trachte metal buildings co., sun prairie, wi. originally mounted on a kentucky fried chicken restaurant roof cupola. sanders first served his fried chicken in 1930 in the midst of the great depression at a gas station he owned in north corbin, kentucky. the dining area was named sanders court & café and was so successful that in 1935 kentucky governor ruby laffoon granted sanders the title of honorary kentucky colonel in recognition of his contribution to the state's cuisine. the following year sanders expanded his restaurant to 142 seats, and added a motel he bought across the street. when sanders prepared his chicken in his original restaurant in north corbin, he prepared the chicken in an iron skillet, which took about 30 minutes to do, too long for a restaurant operation. in 1939, sanders altered the cooking process for his fried chicken to use a pressure fryer, resulting in a greatly reduced cooking time comparable to that of deep frying. in 1940 sanders devised what came to be known as his original recipe. the sanders court & café generally served travelers, often those headed to florida, so when the route planned in the 1950's for what would become interstate 75 bypassed corbin, he sold his properties and traveled the u.s. to sell his chicken to restaurant owners. the first to take him up on the offer was pete harman in south salt lake, utah; together, they opened the first "kentucky fried chicken" outlet in 1952. by the early 1960's, kentucky fried chicken was sold in over 600 franchised outlets in both the united states and canada. one of the longest-lived franchisees of the older col. sanders' chicken concept, as opposed to the kfc chain, was the kenny kings chain. the company owned many northern ohio diner-style restaurants, the last of which closed in 2004. the weathervane measures 61 1/2 x 23 x 2 inches.