Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop [With Collector's Edition]

For generations woodtype was used because it was the most efficient way to produce posters quickly and cheaply. Few could forsee the woodtype "look" becoming a style all its own. Hatch Show Print is now the standard for woodtype printing and they have done this by essentially not changing a thing. Many print shops created posters, but only Hatch survived them all to come out on top. Their work is now seen on album covers, product packaging and of course posters. Hatch posters are the very definition of American country music and rock and roll. Nothing beats the sheer tactile quality of a poster produced by hand. This book is a must for designers and music afficianados. Despite being packed with classic posters I only wish this book was about twice as thick with every known Hatch poster included (this is probably unrealistic but I can always hope). Well worth the price of admission none-the-less!

As a designer and printer at Hatch Show Print, this book makes me very proud. Our beloved Jim Sherraden, along with Elek and Paul did an absolutely amazing job collecting, archiving and compiling 123 years worth of incredible letterpress poster history. The images are simply stunning and the stories are engaging. This is a coffee table book that will spend more time in your hands than on your coffee table. Buy the book and then stop by the shop located in historic downtown Nashville. Get a tour of the shop, see the posters, and have Jim autograph your book!

Hatch Show Print: History of an American Print Shop is a pleasurable read of over a century's worth of poster design, but the accompanying images are what make this book. Chronicle Books has done an incredible job of reproducing this letterpress artwork while retaining all of the charms and details of this unique process. Definitely one of those books you can pick up dozens of time and find something with each new look. There is rumor of an expanded version to come in the future, unfolding more of this shop's extensive history and possibly a new chapter chronicling the more recent designs. I definitely look forward to that!

I haven't received the book yet, but I can tell you that the work done at Hatch, both historically and today, is a piece of Americana rarely equalled. Author Jim Sherraden is an amazing artist and craftsman... and, I might add, an extraordinarily nice guy. He's printed several jobs for me and even let me hang around the shop on a couple of trips to Nashville. His personal paintings based on Hatch posters are nothing short of breathtaking. Buy the book and, if you get a chance, stop by the shop in Nashville. These guys are the real deal.

Jim Sherraden, Elek Horvath and Paul Kingsbury's Hatch Show Print traces the evolution of show posters for entertainers, examining links between show poster art and the American entertainment industry from the early 1800s to modern times. Nashville's long-time Hatch Show Print is the focus of this examination, which blends a survey of popular culture with an examination of letterpress and print evolution. Exceptional.