Nashville's Hatch Show Print

Legendary Printing Company Still Uses 15th Century Processes

May 31, 2009

For 130 years, the historic Hatch Show Print company in Nashville has helped advertise Southern entertainers, sports teams and politicians in its unique, timeless way.

Their look is as distinctive as it gets. Posters created by Nashville's historic Hatch Show Print company, established in 1879, feature vibrant, colorful advertisements unlike any other. And they’ve been doing it the same way for more than a century. The only computer found in this working letterpress-turned-museum, historic archive and tourist attraction is the one used to take customers’ e-mailed orders.

History of Hatch Show Print

Hatch Show Print was founded as CR and HH Hatch by brothers Charles and Herbert, who had grown up learning the letterpress craft working for their father’s Prescott, Wisconsin shop. The brothers moved to Nashville and in 1879 turned out their new company’s first print job: a handbill announcing the appearance of Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, brother of famed abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe.

So successful was that first gig, that business poured in and soon the Hatch brothers’ creations were seen on the sides of buildings and barns across the Southeast. Their advertisements helped sell tickets for minstrel shows, vaudeville acts, circuses, carnivals Negro League Baseball games and operas everywhere.

The company hit its stride during the 1920s when Charles’ son Will Hatch took over the business. The master woodblock carver’s designs made the company the go-to place for the country music industry to publicize its top performers. Hatch also began doing work for African-American jazz and blues stars such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. After Will’s death in 1952, the shop struggled to keep up with the fast-changing advertising industry, but was able to hold on to faithful clients in the country music industry, while courting the stars of the developing rock and roll genre.

Hatch Show Print Still Uses 15th Century Processes

To this day, artists at Hatch Show Print use the same design and printing processes developed as early as the 15th century. Floor-to-ceiling shelves are filled with some 10,000 basswood and maple wood blocks and thousands of photo plates, wood and metal type fonts. These are used to create a design within the dimensions of a particular poster size. Artists literally lay out the blocks and plates backwards, using a mirror to help avoid misspellings, on specially sized trays.

Once a design is laid out, artists place the trays into the press, roll the blocks and plates with colored ink and hand-crank a roll of paper over the design – thus the term “letterpress.” Hatch Show Print boasts 14 historic printing presses, some more than a century old and kept in perfect working order. Most of the work is completed on a huge 1946 Miehle 29 press.

Modern Day Clientele Goes Far Beyond Country Music

Hatch Show Print’s current clientele continues to include top country music entertainers. But other clients include performers as varied as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King and the Beastie Boys. Hatch Show Print artists, including a limited number of lucky interns from around the globe, create covers for magazines, CDs and books and advertisements for companies such as Nike, Taylor Guitars and Jack Daniels. The company also creates unique wedding and party invitations, baby and graduation announcements and the like.

Long ago adopting recycling practices, Hatch Show Print employees use old, large blocks and boards to build shelving. And their test and “oops” sheets are layered and used to create one-of-a-kind greeting cards, post cards and notebook covers.

The copyright of the article Nashville's Hatch Show Print in Tennessee Travel is owned by Devan Stuart. Permission to republish Nashville's Hatch Show Print in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.