Cabbage Patch Dolls

 When Appalachian artist Xavier Roberts started handcrafting a line of fabric sculpture dolls in the late 1970s, he developed an elaborate mythology to go alongside his creations. The Little People, as he originally called them, were “adopted,” not sold, and were “babies” or “kids,” not dolls. Each one was unique, with its own combination of features and a special name. They came directly from “Babyland General Hospital” in Cleveland, Georgia, with birth certificates and adoption papers.