Writing History was intended for the employees and shareholders of the A.T. Cross Company, the world’s oldest manufacturer of writing instruments, in honor of its 150th anniversary. The design of the jacket is meant to reinforce the idea that this is a history of high academic standard, in no way resembling an annual report or promotional literature. The jacket shows pens and pencils of various historical periods in silhouette with the company’s most renowned product as a centerpiece. The writing hand at the lower right appears in a number of popular clip art books, but is an actual Cross stylographic pen of the late nineteenth century. No specific parameters—or text—were given to the designer (who was also responsible for the title), though it was assumed that the company’s logo would appear somewhere.