Founded in 1846 in Providence, Rhode Island, by Richard Cross, the A. T. Cross Company was later passed into the hands of Richard’s son, Alonzo T. Cross. Alonzo received his first US patent for the company in 1876.

The family came from five generations of jewellers, and so the company set out making embellished silver and gold casings for wooden pencils at first, before branching out into full pencil and pen craftsmanship. With the jewellery background, the Cross craftsmanship has always been excellent.