If you’re an 80’s child like myself, chances are you had a Cabbage Patch Kid…or five. They were irresistible; with their cute chubby faces, soft and cuddly fabric bodies, their one-of-a-kind names, and of course that infamous signature scribbled across their bottoms by their creator, Xavier Roberts. Or was he?
In a mini documentary on the history of the famous dolls, the truth comes out. Roberts didn’t come up with the idea at all. He copied the concept (eventually making him a millionaire) from American folk artist Martha Nelson Thomas.
Thomas experimented with the idea of soft sculpture dolls in art school back in the 70’s. She called them doll babies, and sold them at craft fairs where buyers could “adopt” her one of a kind creations. Her photographer friend Guy Mendes told Vice, that she was “flat-out reinventing the doll.”
Roberts had purchased Thomas’ Doll Babies to sell in his own gift shop, and not long after came up with his own (extremely similar) design and concept. One of a kind, fabric dolls you could adopt. It was so blatantly obvious he stole Thomas’ idea, that she ended up suing him. They settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Thomas’ family said it was never about the money.
“It was really valuable to Martha that she was presenting a work of her hands to somebody else,” her husband Tucker Thomas told Vice. “That’s the way she connected with people.”
Martha passed away in 2013, and she was surrounded by her doll babies at her funeral. Although Cabbage Patch Kids have a sour past many aren’t aware of, her legacy and inspiration still lives on through each and every one.
Below are some examples of her Doll Babies. Look familiar?
You can watch the full documentary below.
