FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 24, 2012

'Hatch Show Print’ exhibit features letterpress-printed show posters

By Jessica Peterson

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- The “Hatch Show Print” display currently up at Mississippi University for Women’s Eugenia Summer Gallery features letterpress-printed show posters from one of America's oldest surviving show poster and design shops.

The exhibition will be on display until Monday, March 19, and there will be an artist lecture with Jim Sherraden, manager of Hatch Show Print, the same day at 6 p.m. in room 117 in Parkinson Hall.

Hatch Show Print is a one-of-a-kind, extraordinary letterpress poster and design shop located in Nashville, Tenn. Founded in 1879, Hatch is still printing and designing more than 600 jobs a year, using the original wood type found on countless posters advertising carnivals, circuses, vaudeville and minstrel shows. The shop is historically best known for its country music posters, and since 1992, has operated as a non-profit division of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Not resting on its heritage, Hatch operates under the mantra of "preservation through production," and has created posters for many contemporary entertainers, including B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Coldplay, The Dead, Alan Jackson and many more.

Sherraden is also chief designer and archivist at Hatch Show Print. Since 1984 he has overseen its transition from a cultural survivor to a widely recognized graphic design icon and destination for letterpress enthusiasts. He is the co-writer of “Hatch Show Print, The History of A Great American Poster Shop,” published by Chronicle Books, now in its fifth printing.  He is also the creator of monoprints, based on the shops archive, which are collected by individuals and institutions worldwide.  He is a frequent speaker and conducts letterpress workshops from coast to coast.

The Eugenia Summer Gallery is located in the southwest corner of the MUW campus directly east of the Stark Recreation Center. The Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Contact jpeterson@as.muw.edu for more information.