Hatch Show Print
© Frank Ford, 1/5/99; Photos by FF, 12/3/98
Here's a fine old business that has almost nothing to do with lutherie. I couldn't resist showing you some photos of this classic print shop, though, because the shop reminds me so much of the kind of outmoded work I do. These guys still hand set metal and wood type, and hand print the classic posters for concerts and other events around Nashville, just the way they have done for about 100 years!
You know the posters. They're the classic country music graphic art pieces you see at vintage guitar shows, and in the back rooms of music shops all over:
Name the artist, from Uncle Dave to Elvis, and you'll find their posters hanging here!
They reprint many of their original posters from the original type, wood and linoleum cuts, and offer them for sale in their shop on Broadway in Nashville:
Some of their woodcuts are LARGE:
I couldn't resist buying this showcard:
Click to see how Uncle Dave handles the banjo.
Here's a view from the front counter:
Look at all the woodcuts and large wood type lining the walls of this cavern:
They have about a jillion fonts of metal type in job cases all around the shop:
Lots of their posters are very short runs and are done on this little rotary flatbed press:
In the back room, there are some really huge old presses for the big jobs.
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