Hatch Show Print
Professional services
UnclaimedA historic Nashville letterpress shop best known for bold, hand-printed concert posters and enduring American music imagery.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Hatch Show Print is a historic letterpress printing shop in Nashville, Tennessee, recognized particularly for concert posters made with vintage wood type, hand-carved blocks, and vivid, economical compositions. Established in 1879 by brothers Charles R. Hatch and Herbert H. Hatch, the shop became part of the visual culture of American entertainment by producing handbills, broadsides, and promotional posters for performers, theaters, circuses, fairs, and other public events. The business emerged during an era when large-format letterpress printing was a practical way to advertise performances and attractions. Its early work included a handbill for Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, the prominent preacher and brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Over time, Hatch Show Print developed a recognizable graphic language based on oversized wood type, strong contrast, limited colors, irregular textures, and direct, attention-catching wording. The process was materially intensive: type and carved blocks were arranged by hand, inked, and pressed onto paper, with individual impressions retaining the variations associated with handmade printing. In the 1920s, Charles Hatch's son Will Hatch assumed control of the shop. His work included carving lettering and maintaining the hands-on production methods that became central to the shop's identity. From 1925 through 1992, Hatch operated behind Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. That location placed it close to the city's emerging country-music scene and helped establish long-running relationships with performers and entertainment venues. Its posters promoted artists including Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Bill Monroe, Minnie Pearl, and Loretta Lynn, among many others. Jim Sherraden became manager in 1984 and was associated with the shop's preservation and public profile during a period when commercial printing was increasingly dominated by offset and digital technologies. Rather than treating its old equipment and wood type merely as historical artifacts, Hatch continued to use them for new work, allowing contemporary commissions to retain the visual character of its traditional process. In 1992, Gaylord Entertainment donated Hatch Show Print to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The transfer placed the shop within a museum and cultural-preservation framework while allowing it to remain an operating print studio. In 2013, Hatch moved into the museum, where visitors could observe aspects of production, purchase posters and related merchandise, and participate in tours and educational programming. The shop's work now extends beyond music promotion. It produces posters and other printed goods for cultural institutions, events, brands, and special projects, while continuing to make concert-related imagery. In 2019, Hatch designed 32 posters for the teams participating in that year's NFL Draft and marked its 140th anniversary. Its work has also appeared in exhibitions outside Nashville, including a 2024 display at the Cape Girardeau County History Center in Jackson, Missouri. Hatch Show Print celebrated its 145th anniversary in April 2024. Today, Hatch Show Print functions simultaneously as a working print shop, a design brand, an archive of American popular-culture graphics, and an educational attraction. Its significance lies not only in the subjects depicted on its posters but also in its continued demonstration of a historic craft within a contemporary museum and cultural setting.
History
Hatch Show Print was founded in Nashville in 1879 by brothers Charles R. Hatch and Herbert H. Hatch, commonly identified in the shop's history by their initials, C.R. and H.H. The brothers worked in the commercial handbill and poster trade at a time when letterpress printing was a principal means of announcing public events. One of the shop's early documented handbills promoted Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, a prominent preacher and the brother of novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe. The shop's method relied on movable wood type, hand-carved blocks, ink, paper, and a press operated through a sequence of manually controlled impressions. Its visual style developed around large lettering, high contrast, limited palettes, and forceful compositions that could be read from a distance. These characteristics were practical for public advertising but later became recognizable as a distinctive form of American vernacular graphic design. During the 1920s, Will Hatch, the son of Charles Hatch, took over the business. He carved lettering by hand and helped preserve the workshop's direct relationship between design and production. From 1925 to 1992, the shop operated behind Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. The location was especially important to its development as a music-poster institution because the Ryman was a major performance venue and because Nashville's country-music industry expanded around it. Hatch created promotional material for numerous performers, including Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Bill Monroe, Minnie Pearl, and Loretta Lynn. Jim Sherraden became manager in 1984. Under his management, the shop continued using its historic tools, type, and blocks rather than abandoning letterpress production as newer printing technologies became dominant. This continuity allowed Hatch to operate both as a commercial studio and as a living record of earlier American advertising and poster practices. A major institutional transition occurred in 1992, when Gaylord Entertainment donated the brand and shop to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The donation connected Hatch's operating practice with the museum's collecting, exhibition, and educational mission. For many years the shop remained associated with the Ryman area, but in 2013 it moved inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The new setting made the production process more visible to visitors and supported public tours, demonstrations, retail sales, and educational programs. Although music remains central to Hatch's identity, the shop has produced work for a broader range of cultural and commercial occasions. Its commissions and projects have included event promotion, institutional work, and sports-related design. In 2019, it created 32 posters for the NFL teams participating in the NFL Draft. That year also marked the shop's 140th anniversary. Hatch's continuing relevance has been reinforced through exhibitions and anniversary programming. In February 2024, its artwork appeared in an exhibition at the Cape Girardeau County History Center in Jackson, Missouri. In April of the same year, the shop celebrated its 145th anniversary. It remains active as a Nashville-based letterpress studio and museum-affiliated cultural attraction, presenting historic techniques as a current production method rather than solely as a reconstructed historical display.
- 2024
Missouri exhibition
[2]Hatch artwork is displayed at the Cape Girardeau County History Center in Jackson, Missouri.
- 2024
145th anniversary
[2]Hatch Show Print marks its 145th anniversary in April.
- 2019
NFL Draft poster project
[2]Hatch designs 32 posters for NFL teams for the 2019 NFL Draft.
- 2019
140th anniversary
[2]The shop celebrates 140 years of operation.
- 2013
Relocation into the museum
[2]The print shop moves inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
- 1992
Donation to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
[2]Gaylord Entertainment donates Hatch Show Print to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
- 1984
Jim Sherraden becomes manager
[2]Jim Sherraden takes over management of Hatch Show Print.
- 1925
Move behind the Ryman Auditorium
[2]Hatch begins its long association with the site behind Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.
- 1920
Will Hatch takes over the shop
[2]Charles Hatch's son Will Hatch assumes control during the 1920s and contributes hand-carved lettering to the shop's work.
- 1879
Hatch Show Print is founded
[2]Charles R. Hatch and Herbert H. Hatch establish the print shop in Nashville.
Products and positioning
A heritage American letterpress studio combining live craft production, music history, distinctive poster design, museum interpretation, and educational programming.
Music promotion
Concert posters
Hatch's best-known product is the letterpress concert poster. These posters use large wood type, carved illustrations, strong color contrasts, and compact compositions to identify performers and communicate event information. The method preserves visible variation from hand-set type, carved blocks, ink, and paper, giving each print a tactile character associated with the shop's Nashville history.
Promotional printing · 1879
Custom event posters and handbills
The shop produces posters, handbills, and broadsides for public events and cultural programs. These works adapt Hatch's historic visual vocabulary to contemporary commissions while retaining the physical constraints and graphic directness of letterpress production. The format is suited to venues, festivals, institutions, and other organizations seeking highly distinctive printed promotion.
Prints and merchandise
Art prints and printed merchandise
Hatch also offers collectible prints and related printed products through its museum and retail presence. These items make the shop's typography, historic imagery, and music-related design available beyond one-time event advertising, connecting the working studio with poster collecting and popular-design culture.
Cultural education · 2013
Tours and educational programs
As a museum-affiliated working shop, Hatch Show Print provides public tours and educational programming. These offerings explain letterpress techniques, the use of wood type and hand-carved blocks, and the shop's role in Nashville's music and entertainment history.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019NFL Draft team poster project
United States
Hatch created 32 letterpress-style posters for NFL teams connected with the 2019 NFL Draft, applying its traditional poster-making approach to a major national sports event.
Outcome. The project broadened the public visibility of Hatch's work beyond its established music-poster association.
Brand decisions
2013
Move into the Country Music Hall of Fame and MuseumStrategyBackground
The museum sought to make Hatch's historic craft and music-poster legacy more accessible to visitors.
Action taken
Hatch Show Print relocated inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Aftermath
Visitors gained access to tours, educational programming, and a closer view of the shop's working production process.
1992
Transfer to the Country Music Hall of Fame and MuseumM&ABackground
Hatch Show Print needed an institutional structure capable of preserving its historic materials and supporting continued operation as traditional printing became less common.
Action taken
Gaylord Entertainment donated the shop to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Aftermath
The shop became part of a museum and educational environment while continuing to function as an active print studio.
Sources2 sources
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