History

Any company that has been in business as long as we have is going to have weathered a few storms. Not many, however, can claim comebacks quite as dramatic as Marshall & Bruce’s. When 2015 rolls around in just a few years, we’ll be celebrating our 150th anniversary – and it has been an eventful century and a half.

Fire.

Marshall & Bruce opened its doors on October 25, 1865 as a book bindery with the “value of equipment not exceeding $300,” and in 1869, bought a small printing office. Over the next several decades, the company grew steadily. But in 1895, Andrew Marshall and J.H. Bruce would be challenged by a devastating fire that destroyed everything. Within seven months they had rebuilt a four-story building on the same site.

Boom and (almost) bust.

In 1904, Marshall & Bruce secured the printing contract for the Southern Baptist Convention and a year later, moved the business to a new 50,000 square foot building on 4th Avenue North, adopting the slogan “we print anything.” It probably comes as no surprise that this building was equipped with auto-sprinklers to the tune of $50,000. For the next 35 years, the company’s business centered largely on supplying the Baptist Sunday School Board. When the Baptist contract was unexpectedly terminated in 1938, Marshall & Bruce suffered a setback almost as devastating as the 1895 fire. But the company survived the depression, loss of the Baptist contract, and World War II. In 1952, P.M. French and Associates, owners of Washington Industries, bought the company.  Some years later, the company moved to its current location at 689 Davidson Street. Bob Smith, current owner of Marshall & Bruce, acquired the company from P.M. French and Associates in 1983. According to Bob, “I had worked for them since 1971. I knew the company had been in business since the Civil War, and had a great name and good people. I felt like Nashville was on the move, so I bought the company.” Learn more about the Smith family business philosophy here.

Rain.

On April 30, 2010, it began to rain in Nashville. When it finally stopped on Monday, May 3, Nashville had experienced what has been described as a “thousand year” flood caused by a rainfall nearly three times the previous record. Presses and other equipment sustained water damage and pallets of paper floated in floodwater from nearby Cumberland River. In keeping with M&B “comeback” tradition, many dedicated employees, along with supportive vendors and business partners, devised a strategy to continue filling customer orders while going about the work of clean-up and repair.

A silver lining.

Every cloud has a silver lining. After several months of hard work, on September 1, 2010, Marshall & Bruce had a comeback celebration complete with an old fashioned Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting, a few words from Mayor Karl Dean, and fellowship with employees, customers, and vendors. The post-flood M&B is better than ever. Take a virtual tour and see for yourself!

Historical Timeline

1865
Company is opened by Andrew Marshall and J.H. Bruce on Rue Deadrick as Marshall & Bruce’s Book Bindery on October 25.

1877
Purchased building at 212 Union Street.

1893
Organized as a stock company under the style of Marshall & Bruce Company.

1895
Company burns to the ground on Sunday, February 25 and rebuilds within seven months.

1904
Secured printing contract for the Southern Baptist Convention.

1912
Andrew Marshall dies. (Bruce Shepard, nephew of J.H. Bruce becomes president in 1914.)

1914
J.H. Bruce dies. (Marshall Hotchkiss, nephew of Andrew Marshall, becomes secretary-treasurer.)

1938
Southern Baptist Convention terminates contract. Some months later, the company leased property at 12th and Pine for a printing plant.

1940
Marshal Hotchkiss dies.

1941
Bruce Shephard retires. Ernest M. Allen elected president in May.

1942
Marshall & Bruce purchases Barnhill Stationery company.

1945
Ernest M. Allen dies and G. Allen Rather is elected president.

1948
M&B constructs a new warehouse.

1952
P.M. French and Associates purchases Marshall & Bruce.

1983
Bob Smith purchases M&B.

2010
Nashville is hit with devastating floods.  M&B takes on up to 30 inches of water but is fully operational and even more state-of-the-art within a matter of months.

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