John Henry Nash was born in Ontario, Canada on March 12, 1871. At the age of 16, Nash dropped out of high school to pursue an apprenticeship with Toronto printer James Murry. Later, Nash would briefly relocate to Denver, Colorado before settling in San Francisco, California in 1895 at age 24. For a few years, Nash worked for the Hicks-Judd Company located at 23 First street and from 1900-1901, he worked at Sunset Press alongside his friend from Toronto, Bruce Brough.

In 1903, Brough and Nash formed a partnership, the 20th Century Press. One of 20th Century Press's clients was publisher and bookshop owner Paul Elder, who was interested in having his own in-house press. Later in 1903, the two businesses merged, 20th Century Press becoming the Tomoye Press, owned by Elder but run by Nash. At first the partnership between Nash and Elder was a success and during their years working together, Nash designed and typeset many of Elder's most successful works, using Nash's trademark mitred rule. Despite this creative success, however, Nash and Elder often argued over finances, and they finally severed all ties in 1911.

Afer this Nash formed a partnership with Henry H. Taylor and Edward Dewitt Taylor of Taylor and Taylor Printing. Taylor Nash and Taylor Printing lasted until 1915, and Nash then had a short association with the Blair-Murdock Company before opening up his own shop in 1916. Nash did a wide variety of jobs, printing catalogs, invitations, pamphlets, and books, and for many years printed several elaborate works every year for William Andrews Clark, Jr., which included the printed catalogs of Clark's library as well as various Christmas gift books that Clark sent to friends, family, and other bibliophiles.

Nash retired from printing in 1938 and moved to Eugene, Oregon where worked as temporary professor of typography until 1943. He returned to the Bay area in 1943, where he died May, 24, 1947 at age 76.