Mark Cross - Oldest American Luxury Brand
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Can someone please help me identify any information about this vintage Mark Cross? I bought it off Buyee for about $15 including shipping I couldn't tell if I liked it or not, but given the price, and the weird men's shaving kit groove, I had to give it a chance.
It was a little smooshed when I got it and the leather was very stiff. I conditioned the exterior with Leather CPR and filled it will towels and pool balls for a couple of weeks. After that, I tried to figure out the interior, which felt like an old brown paper bag that was about to rip. I didn't even think it was leather. I thought it was some kind of cheap fabric on its last legs. But after doing a little cleaning and conditioning with Bickmore 4, and a little research here on tPF, I think it might be pig leather (peau pork). 24 hours after conditioning, it feels very soft, matte, almost like a suede, but not. The hardware is so interesting and has no tarnishing on it at all.
I wish it opened a little more easily, but short of oiling it (which I won't do), I don't know what else to do. Maybe use will ease it a bit.
I am familiar with Mark Cross and have had a few (vintage and a newer Grace, most of which I gave to my daughter or sold), but nothing like this. I would love to know its name and decade. And if anyone can confirm the pig leather, I'm so curious about that.
Thank you for any information you can share!
It was a little smooshed when I got it and the leather was very stiff. I conditioned the exterior with Leather CPR and filled it will towels and pool balls for a couple of weeks. After that, I tried to figure out the interior, which felt like an old brown paper bag that was about to rip. I didn't even think it was leather. I thought it was some kind of cheap fabric on its last legs. But after doing a little cleaning and conditioning with Bickmore 4, and a little research here on tPF, I think it might be pig leather (peau pork). 24 hours after conditioning, it feels very soft, matte, almost like a suede, but not. The hardware is so interesting and has no tarnishing on it at all.
I wish it opened a little more easily, but short of oiling it (which I won't do), I don't know what else to do. Maybe use will ease it a bit.
I am familiar with Mark Cross and have had a few (vintage and a newer Grace, most of which I gave to my daughter or sold), but nothing like this. I would love to know its name and decade. And if anyone can confirm the pig leather, I'm so curious about that.
Thank you for any information you can share!
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Here's what I learned yesterday--
This style of shaving kit is known as a Dopp Kit and it became very popular with military men during WWII. The creator was a German born America named Charles Doppelt.
Mark Cross seems to have lined some of it's bags with pig leather from the 1950s until the Sara Lee takeover in the 1990s.
Still, I wish I could find the name and narrow down the decade.
I was absolutely not certain I would like this bag when I bought it, but for $10 + a little shipping, I gave it a gamble. Now, I am pretty charmed by it and am looking forward to using her.
****
Edited to add:
Oh silly me. I posted this, and then did a search for "Dopp Kit." There are 22 pages of posts with references to Dopp Kit. I guess everyone else on tPF knew this term but me! Haha. Still, most of what I just glanced at appears to be about proper Dopp Kit toiletry bags. I'll scour though the posts when I have time to see if any reference a Dopp Kit style handbag.
This style of shaving kit is known as a Dopp Kit and it became very popular with military men during WWII. The creator was a German born America named Charles Doppelt.
Mark Cross seems to have lined some of it's bags with pig leather from the 1950s until the Sara Lee takeover in the 1990s.
Still, I wish I could find the name and narrow down the decade.
I was absolutely not certain I would like this bag when I bought it, but for $10 + a little shipping, I gave it a gamble. Now, I am pretty charmed by it and am looking forward to using her.
****
Edited to add:
Oh silly me. I posted this, and then did a search for "Dopp Kit." There are 22 pages of posts with references to Dopp Kit. I guess everyone else on tPF knew this term but me! Haha. Still, most of what I just glanced at appears to be about proper Dopp Kit toiletry bags. I'll scour though the posts when I have time to see if any reference a Dopp Kit style handbag.
Help me chew on this, friends.
I am clearly having a Mark Cross moment, and am happy for it! But this is weird.
I bought a vintage, new stock, top handle + crossbody strap off eBay. There were errors in the description and the seller has agreed to a refund, but I want to talk about it before sending it back. Errors are color (it was listed as blue, then I mentioned I wished it were black, seller updated color to black, I assumed he was making an honest correction, but trust me, it is blue and it feels intentionally misleading), and interior (supposed to be leather, but is clearly a thin vinyl/PVC.)
Also, now that I look for it, I do not find a serial number or model number. Shouldn't there be? And the lining pulls completely out which, I think is unusual for a high end bag.
You can kind of see/feel the inner structure through the leather, but it is a decades old bag. The zips are nylon.
On the upside, the hardware is gold plated, the strap claps are interesting, the stitching looks good, and it has 4 feet.
What am I to think of this bag? It doesn't look fake. Were there even good Mark Cross fakes in the 80s and 90s? But the lining is so unexpected (both material and pull-out-y-ness). Should I get over lining? I think this is from the dark days of Sara Lee.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to send it back. I have come to believe this is a Sara Lee bag, so if anyone has interest about that era, I think this is one of those. It is super cute, vintage but unused, but I do not think it will age well once put into rotation.
I am clearly having a Mark Cross moment, and am happy for it! But this is weird.
I bought a vintage, new stock, top handle + crossbody strap off eBay. There were errors in the description and the seller has agreed to a refund, but I want to talk about it before sending it back. Errors are color (it was listed as blue, then I mentioned I wished it were black, seller updated color to black, I assumed he was making an honest correction, but trust me, it is blue and it feels intentionally misleading), and interior (supposed to be leather, but is clearly a thin vinyl/PVC.)
Also, now that I look for it, I do not find a serial number or model number. Shouldn't there be? And the lining pulls completely out which, I think is unusual for a high end bag.
You can kind of see/feel the inner structure through the leather, but it is a decades old bag. The zips are nylon.
On the upside, the hardware is gold plated, the strap claps are interesting, the stitching looks good, and it has 4 feet.
What am I to think of this bag? It doesn't look fake. Were there even good Mark Cross fakes in the 80s and 90s? But the lining is so unexpected (both material and pull-out-y-ness). Should I get over lining? I think this is from the dark days of Sara Lee.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to send it back. I have come to believe this is a Sara Lee bag, so if anyone has interest about that era, I think this is one of those. It is super cute, vintage but unused, but I do not think it will age well once put into rotation.
Attachments
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