{Don’t} Stop the Presses! Hatch Show Print Tour is Something to be Seen
Article by Karen Creason
Photography by Karen Creason
Originally published in Franklin Lifestyle
Have you ever wondered how Printers Alley got its name? In 1870, Nashville was 5th in the nation as a printing center, cranking out bibles, sheet music, and school materials. The proximity to the Cumberland River made the simple work of getting supplies in and shipping completed works out.
In 1879, brothers Charles and Herbert Hatch founded what is now called Hatch Show Print. Offering “part history, part how-to, wholly inspiring” behind-the-scenes tours of the working museum, and one of the oldest letterpress print shops in the United States, it is clear why over 100,000 visitors take this fun and interesting tour annually.
Hatch Show Print still creates posters the same way there were produced over a century ago using one of their 10 presses, including a 1900 steam-powered press re-outfitted to use electricity. Using its extensive archive of vintage wood type and carved wood and linoleum blocks, Hatch Show Print creates 500-600 designs and prints roughly 250,000 posters annually.
The iconic look of a Hatch Show Print starts with the signature full justification format. Carved dingbats (think 19th-century clipart) are added to help with justification. Made from wood or linoleum, many of the original Hatch carvings are still in use and can be seen lining the 60’ long by 15’ high back wall of the print shop. The raised images are inked and hand-fed individually onto the press. Multiple color posters require a new and separate carving for each color pass.
Part of the beauty of a Hatch Show Print is that each print is authentic, slightly different, and custom-designed with the designer also being the printer. They create large format advertising for musicians, entertainers, businesses, and organizations. Each day something new comes off the presses.
Celene Aubrey, Print shop manager and Director of Hatch Show Print, is excited that the “Future [of Hatch Show Print] as a historic print shop is secure” as it is now part of the County Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Celene continues “The relationship between the two of us, we tell such a fun, interesting story from so many different vantage points of music in Nashville – and it’s not just country music. We reflect what is going on across the whole broad spectrum of life.”
The tour hosts are engaging and fun, history is shared in a relatable way, and tour participants get to print a Hatch Show Print to take home.
HatchShowPrint.com
