One of the best experiences in Nashville awaits in an understated Broadway shop, eclipsed by the neon and noise of the honky-tonks. A rickety old printer's shop, it doesn't look like much--at first. But step inside Hatch Show Print, and discover why Nashville wouldn't be the same without its colorful concert posters.
Old School Methods, Fresh Ideas
One of the South's oldest letterpress print shops, Hatch Show Print puts a modern twist on an ancient trade. Using movable wood type and giant presses with hand-turned cranks and handles, artists turn out concert posters sublime enough to hang above a modern mantel.
The hand-carved letters wear the smudge and smell of ink. Old presses rattle and clank in the hands of seasoned masters and eager college interns. Even the rotary phone rings with the sound of another era.
At Hatch Show Print, some things never change. And that's the allure of this icon. "It's a working museum," says printer Jim Sherraden. "It's preservation through production."
Rough Edges, Eclectic Beauty
A Hatch Show poster is easy to spot: old fonts, rough edges, and appealing aberrations. This gritty authenticity has made the shop a favorite of musicians from The King to The Boss to The Man in Black. Its biggest customers are B.B. King and Willie Nelson.
Concert posters aren't the only works of art here. Jim noticed the beauty of the discarded blotting sheets and began overlapping them to form many-layered works of art. His finished products, called monoprints, combine carnival, vaudeville, and country music icons in a calculated theme. "I do this to stretch the envelope," Jim says, "and to clean off the woodblocks."
See the Magic
Pop in the shop, and look through the posters. From this vantage point, you can peer over the counters at the artists at work.
Included among the shelves of type are wood blocks dating back to 1879 when the shop was founded. The blocks are sometimes broken, sometimes lost, and sometimes found again. There are too many to count.
"I've never counted for real," Jim says. "I kind of don't ever want to know."
Hatch Show Print: 316 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201; (615) 256-2805.
Take It Home
One of the best souvenirs you can buy in Nashville is a Hatch Show Print (also online at www.hatchshowprint.com). Each piece is a hand-printed original, yet you'll find something to fit every budget.
- Hatch Show Print postcard: 50 cents
- Small Johnny Cash poster: $15
- Large vintage poster: $40-$300
- Jim Sherraden monoprint: $250-$1,200
- To read more, pick up a copy of Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Print Shop ($35).
"Nashville Classic" is from the March 2006 issue of Southern Living. Because prices, dates, and other specifics are subject to change, please check all information to make sure it's still current before making your travel plans.
