January 8th of this year would have been Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday. Given the shop’s longstanding service to Tom Parker, providing advertising posters not only for the King of Rock n’ Roll, but also for other artists the Colonel work with, such as Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow, we celebrate our mutual love of music and shared history, cranking the tunes on the stereo as we turn out the posters each day.
Did you know? When manager Colonel Tom Parker first started working with Elvis Presley in 1955, including him on tours headlined by Opry Star Hank Snow, Hatch Show Print was there to make the posters advertising the line up. By 1956, Elvis was the headliner, and this poster advertising the shows in Jacksonville, Florida, was captured by a photographer from Life magazine while documenting the “new music” sweeping the nation, also known as Rock n’ Roll.
The following year, the shop produced this poster for a homecoming appearance in Tupelo in 1957.
While the posters advertising shows for Elvis Presley are in the past, letterpress-and the King of Rock n’ Roll!-live on in a project the shop worked on that was published by Taschen books in 2013: A collection of photographs made by Alfred Wertheimer in 1956 and 1958 of Elvis Presley, both on stage and behind the scenes, in more private moments.
Hatch Show Print’s designers created the double-page “posters” for each chapter, the table of contents, and a special title page that was signed by the photographer for the limited edition run of this book that also included a handmade box covered in special monoprints created by Master Printer Emeritus Jim Sherraden.
Long live analog!
Long live the King of Rock n’ Roll!
Shop Hatch Show Print
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Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop Hardcover Book
In this age of digital media, the handcrafted ethic and aesthetic of a Hatch Show Print poster is beyond compare. Country musicians and magicians, professional wrestlers and rock stars, all have turned to Nashville’s historic Hatch Show Print to create showstopping posters. Established in 1879, Hatch preserves the art of traditional printing that has earned a loyal following to this day (including the likes of Beck, Emmylou Harris, and the Beastie Boys).
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Elvis Presley Concert Poster
1956 was the year Elvis appeared out of nowhere, immediately rocketing across the entertainment firmament like a Technicolor comet. This poster was printed for two days of shows he played in Jacksonville that August. So incendiary were his performances that after his first matinee show a local judge instructed him that he had to tone down his sexy moves for the sake of public morals. Hang the Hillbilly Cat on your wall, if you dare!
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Coming Soon WSM Print
The distinctively carved lettering in this vibrant poster, courtesy of shop owner Will T. Hatch himself, established the look of Grand Ole Opry signs and posters for decades. Hatch Show Print created this poster in 1941 to advertise touring Opry shows at the behest of legendary Opry show promoter J. L. Frank. Printed on acid-free paper for durability.
