The Cabbage Patch phenomenon touched the hearts of millions of American children during the toys' heyday in the 1980s. It all started back in 1976, when a young student named Xavier Roberts took an interest in a German sculpture technique from the 19th century. Roberts got the idea to market adoptable dolls in 1977, and his sculptures at a Florida art show in 1978 won him first prize in a critical contest, giving him both the financial incentive and market cache to grow his business, which at that time was named Little People Originals. In 1982, Roberts re-christened his business "Cabbage Patch Kids" and signed a deal with Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. Over the next several years, Cabbage Patch Kids and Cabbage Patch Babies sold tens of millions of dolls. In 1985, the company even marketed an astronaut doll as part of an homage to the space shuttle program. By the end of the ‘80s, over 65 million dolls were in circulation. Although the massive market exposure trailed off in the 1990s, the brand has retained its cache even to this day. The Cabbage Patch Kids have made it onto US postal stamps and served as mascots for the United States Olympic team. Regular edition dolls can be adopted for a few hundred dollars. True collectors' items, especially Baby Cabbage Patch Kids from the early release dates or from the Little People line, can sell to die-hard collectors for thousands of dollars. | 
