American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print

October 11, 2008- July 19, 2009

American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print illustrates the fascinating fusion of art with popular culture and music history. Featuring the work of one of the nation's oldest operating printing shops—Nashville, Tennessee's Hatch Show Print—the exhibition highlights the uniquely American posters produced to advertise everything from vaudeville shows, state fairs and stock car races to the Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley and Herbie Hancock.

Founded in 1879 in Nashville, Tenn., Hatch Show Print is still a working letterpress and design shop, creating posters today using the same letterpress methods as yesterday. American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print features historical and contemporary posters and original wooden print blocks—some never before seen by the public.

The exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum, is supported by America's Jazz Heritage, a Partnership of The Wallace Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution.

To read Hatch Show Print designer Jim Sherraden's biography, click here >> Click on a thumbnail for a larger image:
Main image: Detail of The Art of Hatch Show Print poster.