Hatch Show Prints – One of The Oldest Operating Letterpress Shops in the USA [MOVED 2013]

2013: Hatch Show Print still exists, but it has moved to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I'm updating the address on this post to reflect that, but keeping the photos of what it looked like when we visited it at its location at 316 Broadway.

Original 2011 Post:

In my mind a trip to Nashville isn't complete without a visit to Hatch Show Print, one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America. And if you're getting into town later than you thought you would arrive, don't miss their great neon sign!

If you're not sure what a "Hatch Show Print" is, a gander at the walls of their Broadway location will give you an idea of the unique look that you can only get from using the antique wood and metal typefaces and imagery from the Hatch archive.

And archive it is! Hatch has been around since 1879 and still prints their posters the old fashioned way, doing pretty much everything by hand, so each poster in each run is unique. We were lucky that, in a case of mistake identity, manager and chief curator Jim Sherraden was able to give us a quick behind the scenes tour of the shop, and was more than happy to share his love of the medium and history with us.

Even if you don't make it past the front counter, there are posters posters everywhere! Lining the walls, being made on the presses, ones for sale, in bins, being rolled for mailing, the works! And if you're a lover of old typefaces, music, stock art, advertising like I am, you'll spend too much time enthralled by what surrounds you!

The cool folks who work at Hatch must be used to us gawkers coming in the door as if on a religious pilgrimage, and were as laid back as the shop cats while we were exclaiming, ooh-ing and ahhing at each new to us old find.

There was no way were were going to leave empty handed, but in turn we could not wallpaper our house with these fabulous examples of old school technology being given a new life - though the thought is tempting. If you can't decide on just one poster, they've got some great postcards to choose from.

So if there's one place I can recommend to get an authentic souvenir of Music City USA, Hatch Show Print is the Retro Roadmap-worthy place to get it!