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

By Elek Horvath, Jim Sherraden, Jim Sherrarden, et al.

Book Overview

In this age of digital media, the handcrafted ethic and aesthetic of a Hatch Show Print poster is beyond compare. Country musicians and magicians, professional wrestlers and rock stars, all have turned to Nashville's historic Hatch Show Print to create showstopping posters. Established in 1879, Hatch preserves the art of traditional printing that has earned a loyal following to this day (including the likes of Beck, Emmylou Harris, and the Beastie Boys). Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop is the first fully illustrated tour of this iconic print shop and also chronicles the long life and large cast of employees, entertainers, and American legends whose histories are intertwined with it. Complete with 190 illustrations--as well as a special book jacket that unfolds to reveal an original Hatch poster on the reverse-- Hatch Show Print is a dazzling document of this legendary institution.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811828565
• ISBN13: 9780811828567
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 2.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 10.3" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

The shop that set the standard!

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!

Proud to be a Hatch Show Printer

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!

Beautiful collection of hundreds of years of poster design

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!

HATCH is an amazing place with amazing work.

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.

Show poster art and the American entertainment industry

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.