Lauding the Letterpress

A friend suggested we check out a Smithsonian traveling exhibition currently at the State Library of Virginia, and I’m very glad we did.  The show is titled American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print. “Hatch Show Print” is kind of a weird name, but it’ll all make sense when you do a little research on the exhibition – or better yet go see it yourself. Letterpress printing is an esteemed tradition in the graphic arts industry, utilizing relatively basic technology to achieve effective and entertaining visual communication.

The Hatch Show Print collection is wonderful. Go see it. (Free parking in the basement deck of the State Library. Be sure and get your parking stub validated.)

Photography was not allowed in the gallery space, so I can't show you any examples of the prints on display. This is a detail from a promotional banner hanging at the entrance to the gallery.
Jim Sherraden, the exhibition's curator and chief designer at Hatch Show Print ran a workshop for VCU graphic design students. This is a detail from some of the students' work.
A street detail in the Manchester section of Richmond. Unrelated to the Hatch exhibition, except that it's a graphic image with a strong, simple color palette, and the image was taken after viewing the show.

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