Mark Cross is an American luxury leather goods brand. Founded in 1845, the company started as a bridle, harness, and saddle maker before transitioning to luxury leather goods.
History
Mark Cross opened its doors in Boston in 1845, eventually moving its headquarters to New York. Soon after, employee Patrick Murphy purchased Mark Cross and expanded the product offering to luxury leather goods.
[Cohen, Lisa, ''All We Know: Three Lives'', New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013. ]
Patrick’s son, Gerald, took over as the company’s president in 1934 after years of living abroad.
Before leading Mark Cross,
Gerald and Sara Murphy
Gerald Clery Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg were wealthy, expatriate Americans who moved to the French Riviera in the early 20th century and who, with their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle, particularl ...
were wealthy expatriates living at
Cap d'Antibes
Antibes (, also , ; oc, label= Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice.
The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes and the Sophia ...
and forming relationships with many artists and writers of the
Lost Generation
The Lost Generation was the social generational cohort in the Western world that was in early adulthood during World War I. "Lost" in this context refers to the "disoriented, wandering, directionless" spirit of many of the war's survivors in the ...
.
Gerald’s friendship with
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
led to him to design an overnight case for
Grace Kelly’s character in
“Rear Window,” an early example of product placement in film.
Later, one with
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...
led to Mark Cross branding being used on 1980s
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
cars equipped with leather upholstery.
After the Murphys sold the business, Mark Cross went through a succession of different ownership until it was shut down in the late 1990s by its then-owner
Sara Lee
Sara may refer to:
Arts, media and entertainment Film and television
* Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui
* Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda
* Sara (2010 ...
. It remained dormant until it was relaunched in 2011 by new owner Neal J Fox, who produces the products in the same Italian factories as the company did over 40 years prior.
References
{{reflist
Leather goods
Luxury brands