May 2018 42 Hatch Show Print of Nashville, Tennessee, has been creating advertising, circus, and concert posters on hand-cranked printing presses since 1879. Their legendary printing business was originally launched in Chicago, but they moved it to Nashville in 1881. Their unique style of print work is recognized and collected the world over. Text for the posters is always chosen from Hatch’s collection of vintage, hand-carved woodblock type, so no two Hatch posters are ever the same. Every Hatch Show Print created, regardless of its subject, is a distinctive and original piece of Americana. Examples of their work include past and present stars of the Grand Ole Opry, as well as superstars such as Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Marty Robbins, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Emmy Lou Harris, The Byrds, Lefty Frizzell, Tex Ritter, Buck Owens, BR5-49, Red Hot Chili Peppers, B.B. King, Bruce Springsteen, Riders in the Sky, Waylon Jennings, Sons of the Pioneers, Johnny Cash, and Elvis. Working with Hatch to create a National Day of the Cowboy poster seemed like a natural way to pair two American traditions. So, when the National Day of the Cowboy was founded in 2005, we already knew we wanted to work with Hatch to commemorate this unique holiday and to promote it in a traditional visual way. That year, we traveled to Hatch where we selected the image of a cowboy, hat held high, riding a bucking horse, from their drawer of vintage ‘rodeo’ art wooden blocks. It’s a classic rodeo action figure that has been used in many of their historic posters. The following year, 2006, we learned that if we could provide Hatch with original art, their graphic artists would carve it into a plate for our poster. We approached Arizona artist and cowgirl, Jennifer M. Ward, about creating a graphic for our next poster and she sent us her art of the cowgirl on the gently rearing horse. Since that time, we’ve made an effort to ask a different artist from a different state each year, to provide original cowboy themed artwork for our historic commemorative series. Although Hatch does not have a record of who the artist was for their rodeo image, we know our COWBOY TRADITIONS and Wooden Blocks posters feature original and exclusive artwork from Jennifer M. Ward – Arizona, Teal Blake – Texas, Zane Mead – New Mexico, Christina Holmes – California, Jim Harrison – Florida, Joseph ‘Jo’ Mora – Uruguay/California, Jim Clements – Kansas, Don Weller – Utah, Tyler Crow – Oklahoma, Alex MacAskill – Canada/ Tennessee, and Naomi Offner – Washington. All of our posters also have a unique theme, such as “Kick it Up a Notch,” and all are two- color posters, with the exception of the poster for our tenth anniversary, which features three colors. This historic series has grown to become one of the most recognizable legacies of the National Day of the Cowboy. A limited number of each of our commemorative posters is printed for sale each year, which serves as a fundraising vehicle for us while also building awareness for the National Day of the Cowboy. Some years are currently unavailable, but if you go to www. nationaldayofthecowboy.com and click on our “Shop” section, you’ll find that we do still have some years available, especially the more recent ones. Beginning with the 2010 poster, we also started asking our artists to hand-sign a limited number of their posters. The hand-signed ones typically sell out before those that are not signed. We’re extremely proud of our historic series, but as Hatch prices have increased, we’ve struggled to be able to place our order each year. A few years back, we used GoFundMe to raise enough money to pay for the poster, but if you go to our “Shop” section, you’ll notice we were forced to skip 2017 due to a lack of funds. This year, we have been given permission to use another Jo Mora image (his 2011 is one of our most popular), so we’ve launched a fundraiser on YouCaring, in hopes of being able to create this poster for 2018. You can also go to our website and order the 2018 in advance, including those that will bear Mora’s Estate Stamp. As with most vendors, Hatch requires payment in advance and a minimum order amount. And, because all of their work is still executed by hand, there is a 12-week turnaround time so we’re working on additional streams of revenue to be able to place our print order soon, so we’ll have it in time for July 28, 2018. First National Day of the Cowboy Hatch Poster PRESERVE THE HERITAGE Artist unknown, July 23, 2005 2nd Annual National Day of the Cowboy SADDLE UP & RIDE Jennifer M. Ward, July 22, 2006 Own a distinctive piece of American history with this original Hatch Show Print celebrating the 2nd Annual National Day of the Cowboy. The Cowgirl at the heart of this poster was created exclusively for the National Day of the Cowboy by Arizona artist and cowgirl, Jennifer M. Ward. We sent her original art to Hatch where it was carved into a plate for “Saddle Up & Ride!” Colors are Bisbee Turquoise and Desert Corral. 3rd Annual National Day of the Cowboy ROPE YOUR COWBOY DREAMS Teal Blake, July 28, 2007 The 2007 poster features “Trick Roper,” original art by Texas artist and cutting horse rancher, Teal Blake. Teal created the image exclusively for the National Day of the Cowboy organization. Colors of the 2007 NDOC Hatch are Chocolate Brown and Sage Green. 4th Annual National Day of the Cowboy CATCH THE COWBOY SPIRIT Zane Mead, July 26, 2008 This is the fourth poster in the National Day of the Cowboy’s collectible series This poster, in Wrangler blue and copper features art by New Mexico artist, Zane Mead (originally from Arizona). He based his steer roping graphic on a photograph taken by Jason Cupp, at a roping event at Horse Lover’s Park in Cave Creek, Arizona. continued on page 45