Square-shaped wood and cast lead printing block. The print image is a circular seal outlined with a single thin line. Inside the cirlce outline is the image of a man and a woman in ancient Greek dress. The woman is on the right and is seated on a three-legged stool. She is hunched with a bowed head and her hands extended. In one had she holds a bowl and in the other a branch of laurel. On the left stands a man wearing a toga with his chest bare. The man has a beard and wears a crown of laurels. Between the male and female is a column. Along the top of the seal is an image of part of the structure, of which the column is part, that is decorated with alternating squares. There is text above each of the figures, but is too small to read.

Donated by John Damianos. The printing block was used in a linotype printing machine. Linotype presses allowed for the casting of entire lines to be printed at a time. Linotype printing was eventually succeeded by lithograph printing and computer typesetting during the 1960's and 1970's. This printing block was used by the Chicago-based, Greek Art Printing Company. This print image was used in the printing of letterhead, membership applications, and event programs for the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois. The Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois was founded in February of 1951 by a group of Greek attorneys, most of whom had immigrated to the United States and worked to pay thier way through university and law school. The Association seeks to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the administration of justice in the State of Illinois; increase members' effectiveness and efficiency in the practice of law; ensure that bench and bar adhere to acceptable professional and ethical standards; improve public understanding of the functions and importance of our Legal and Constitutional System and encourage respect therefor; increase public understanding and respect for the legal profession; and increase public understanding of the role of Hellenism in the law. The image on the seal is taken from Ancient Greek pottery. The image is of a man seeking answers from the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle, the woman, is seated on the three-legged stool that was situated above a crevasse in the rock from which fumes arose and put the Oracle into a trance. The bowl held by the oracle is meant for recieving the sacrifices brought by those seeking guidance. The laurel leaves held in the other hand were chewed upon by the oracle. Laurel (or Bay) leaves have a narcotic effect when ingested in large amounts. Both Lykurgus and Solon, the great lawgivers or ancient Greece, are said to have referred to the Oracle of Delphi for suggestions of the laws that they helped to institute in thier city-states.

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