A Bit Of History
Cabbage
Patch Kids were created by Xavier Roberts in 1983.
Success came relatively quickly and it wasn’t
long before parents were frantically hunting for the
dolls at Christmas time. By the late 1980s and early
‘90s his company had become a household name.
‘Little People’, as they were originally
called, began when he was given the free lease of a
Georgian state medical clinic, because he could not
afford his own workshop. At first, the workers in his
little factory even wore surgical gowns.
Cabbage
Patch Kid number ‘001’ called ‘Mai
Ling’, was made out of porcelain and was a
limited edition of 1,000. Two other friends, dolls
‘002’ and ‘003’, were also made
of porcelain to accompany ‘001’and are
equally collectable. After these rare first three
Kids, production continued with dolls made from
cloth. However, success came with the company being
bought by Coleco who changed the name from Little
People, to Cabbage Patch Kids, starting mass
production to satisfy the growing demand.
The dolls are well made with painted eyes, many
different variations of colour, body proportions and
value. Dating the dolls is quite simple because of
the colour-coded signature on their bottoms. If
Xavier Robert’s signature is black without a
date it means the doll is from 1983, green denotes
1984.
Each
year a new colour of signature was produced with the
trend continuing, blue (1985), red (1986), mint
(1987), purple (1988) and pink (1989). At this point,
Hasbro bought the company. The giant toy manufacturer
who already made ‘GI Joe’ in America and
‘Action Man’ in Europe did not do so well
with Cabbage Patch Kids and they sold the company to
Mattel in the mid-1990s who have continued production
since.
Besides
the Cabbage Patch Kids there were other ranges made
which are often collected as part of the Cabbage
Patch series. Preemies, made during a frost are
small, Koosas, are animals and Splashin’ Kids
are made from vinyl so kids could play in the bath
with them.
Other
than these dolls there are some especially rare
products that are particularly sought after by
collectors. Snacktime Kids were withdrawn from
production because some children got their hair eaten
by the dolls. Some did survive the recall however and
are now prized collector’s items. Other
collector’s items include Royal Worcester plates
and china.
Original
Coleco models are worth around $10-$20 (£6-£14) if
worn, but a mint condition model is worth $60-$80
(£40-£55). Particularly sought after dolls include
The Cabbage Patch Astronaut which can fetch around
£150 (USD $220).
Many
collectors try to go to America or buy from America
because of the rich Cabbage Patch pickings that are
to be had there. Toyshops are often unaware of what
they may have upon their shelves and even large
retailers can have collectable Kids at bargain
prices.
The Kids all come with a Birth Certificate and an
Adoption Form that can be sent back to the company.
As soon as your adoption of a Cabbage Patch Kids is
registered the company will send your Kid birthday
cards each year.
Commercialism
in it's purest and worst form.
