Vintage Sunday: 1969 Kentucky Fried Chicken Bucket

Of all the strange things I've found at estate sales, this 1969 (yes, it's dated) Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket was perhaps the most unexpected. The estate sale was at a house that had more clutter than I'd ever seen before, and the sale organizers had simply opened up the house, set up a cashier's station at the front door, and let everyone sift through everything to find treasures.

I found the bucket in the attic, balanced on the bannister. I was gobsmacked to imagine that someone had finished a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken forty years ago and had actually taken the time to stash away the bucket rather than throw it away. This is true ephemera: it's an artifact of everyday life so common and so unappreciated that almost every example was thrown away after use.

Along the rim of the bucket, there are small spot illustrations suggesting situations where one might want to serve delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken. The Colonel knows that his chicken is perfect for Meetings, Guests, Parties, Traveling, Picnics, and "Mom's Day Off."

I love these little spot illustrations. Check out "Mom's Day Off," for example. That is amazing economy of line. The artist combined a bare minimum number of brushstrokes and a few splashes of red to define negative space and complete the drawings. And he made it look easy.

Also, he kind of made Mom look like some cape-and-cowled superhero launching herself into flight as she waves goodbye to the Good Citizens she has fed with chicken. Up, up, and AWAY!!