The other day while shopping at my local Goodwill store
I came across a rather scruffy-looking doll on the shelf
of the Toy and Doll section...
An original Martha Nelson Thomas Baby Doll head.
This doll's face is identical to the face
on the doll I recently purchased in Goodwill.
I assumed at first that this grimy-faced baby doll
whom someone had dressed in a blue and white
checked shirt and real baby diaper was a knock off of
a Cabbage Patch Kid. Since I have never been a big fan
or collector of that particular line of dolls, I put him back
on the shelf and walked away to look at something else.
Yet, as I walked up and down the aisles of shelves
overflowing with all kinds of bric-a-brac, I kept thinking
about that forlorn doll left behind in the toy section.
I returned a few minutes later and he was still there.
I instinctively snatched him up and put him in my cart
and headed for the check-out. I am really glad that
I went back and got him that day.
Later on at home while researching "M.N. Thomas dolls"
online, I made the surprising discovery that the doll, whom
I had since cleaned up and given the name Adam David,
was a rare treasure from the distant past.
I also found out that "M.N. Thomas" was actually
a woman named Martha Nelson Thomas, a shy
yet talented doll artist from western Kentucky.
In the early 1970's Martha began to create
a series of soft-sculptured rag dolls which
she named and also gave adoption papers,
which provided the buyer with information
about each of her dolls' unique personalities.
whom someone had dressed in a blue and white
checked shirt and real baby diaper was a knock off of
a Cabbage Patch Kid. Since I have never been a big fan
or collector of that particular line of dolls, I put him back
on the shelf and walked away to look at something else.
Yet, as I walked up and down the aisles of shelves
overflowing with all kinds of bric-a-brac, I kept thinking
about that forlorn doll left behind in the toy section.
I returned a few minutes later and he was still there.
I instinctively snatched him up and put him in my cart
and headed for the check-out. I am really glad that
I went back and got him that day.
Later on at home while researching "M.N. Thomas dolls"
online, I made the surprising discovery that the doll, whom
I had since cleaned up and given the name Adam David,
was a rare treasure from the distant past.
I also found out that "M.N. Thomas" was actually
a woman named Martha Nelson Thomas, a shy
yet talented doll artist from western Kentucky.
In the early 1970's Martha began to create
a series of soft-sculptured rag dolls which
she named and also gave adoption papers,
which provided the buyer with information
about each of her dolls' unique personalities.
Martha Nelson Thomas and her Babies
According to more online research, while Martha
was selling her dolls at a regional craft fair, she
encountered a man by the name of Xavier Roberts
who really liked her dolls and bought some of
them to sell in his store. However, when Martha
found out he was overcharging customers for her dolls
she became distraught and took her dolls back,
refusing Roberts the right to sell them.
Roberts retaliated by writing Martha a letter,
informing her that if he could not sell her dolls anymore
then he would make similar ones of his own to sell.
Copying her original soft-sculpture form and technique
of doll adoption papers, Xavier Roberts made good
on his promise and in 1978 the Cabbage
Patch Kids were born.
The dolls were an overnight sensation and topped
the Christmas wish lists of little girls all over
America during the late 1970's and early 1980's.
I can still remember a family friend getting
up out of bed before dawn on a freezing
December morning to stand in line outside
of a local department store in order to get a ticket
to purchase a Cabbage Patch Kid for her daughter
from the store's limited supply of dolls.
I also remember my baby sister receiving her
own Cabbage Patch doll and a record album of
Cabbage Patch songs for Christmas that same year.
No one knew at the time that the incredibly
successful marketing of these dolls was based on
their creator's prowess of copycatting for profit.
And, that Martha Nelson Thomas had
literally been left out in the cold.
was selling her dolls at a regional craft fair, she
encountered a man by the name of Xavier Roberts
who really liked her dolls and bought some of
them to sell in his store. However, when Martha
found out he was overcharging customers for her dolls
she became distraught and took her dolls back,
refusing Roberts the right to sell them.
Roberts retaliated by writing Martha a letter,
informing her that if he could not sell her dolls anymore
then he would make similar ones of his own to sell.
Copying her original soft-sculpture form and technique
of doll adoption papers, Xavier Roberts made good
on his promise and in 1978 the Cabbage
Patch Kids were born.
The dolls were an overnight sensation and topped
the Christmas wish lists of little girls all over
America during the late 1970's and early 1980's.
I can still remember a family friend getting
up out of bed before dawn on a freezing
December morning to stand in line outside
of a local department store in order to get a ticket
to purchase a Cabbage Patch Kid for her daughter
from the store's limited supply of dolls.
I also remember my baby sister receiving her
own Cabbage Patch doll and a record album of
Cabbage Patch songs for Christmas that same year.
No one knew at the time that the incredibly
successful marketing of these dolls was based on
their creator's prowess of copycatting for profit.
And, that Martha Nelson Thomas had
literally been left out in the cold.
The Secret History of the Cabbage Patch Kids
Since learning the truth behind the story
of the Cabbage Patch Kids, I do not think
of the Cabbage Patch Kids, I do not think
I will ever feel the same about them again.
But, I sure am glad that I found one
of Martha Nelson Thomas' precious babies
of Martha Nelson Thomas' precious babies
waiting for me on the shelf in Goodwill this week!
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