Hatch Show Print: Handmade posters, local piece of history
Published: Jul 29, 2009
Hatch Show Print is one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in the United States. The shop is located on Lower Broadway and offers a piece of history amid tourist shops.
The posters produced inside the shop have featured country music performers ranging from Hank Williams, Bill Monroe and Johnny Cash to Garth Brook, Wynonna Judd and Shania Twain.
The shop is currently owned by the Country Music Hall of Fame and was originally established in 1879. The traditional, handmade posters are made by use of old-fashioned presses which press wood and metal images against paper.
Inside the shop posters line the walls. Posters of various colors, bands and artists from the past and present are available for viewing. The shop has 14 historic printing presses and most of the work is generated on four Van der Cook proof presses of various sizes and on a 1946 Miehle 29 press. All presses are operated by hand, staying true to its printing press past.
Staff members are ready to help you with any of your poster needs. The atmosphere is relaxed and you might find a few cats roaming around, affectionately known as the “Hatch Cats.”
The posters haven’t lost their appeal since the time when the posters were used to promote vaudeville, circus and minstrel shows across the country. Now, tourists and Nashvillians stop in the shop to purchase posters to decorate apartments and businesses. Besides tourists and locals, clients of the shop include Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Nike, Taylor Guitars, Jack Daniels, Pizza Hut and Oxford University Press.
The Hatch Show Print Shop is closed Sundays; open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
- by Leah Caudle , Nashville Reporter for HelloMetro
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