Rectangular wood and cast lead printing block. The print image is a portrait of a man from the shoulders up. The man is bespectacled and has a moustache and goatee. He has longer hair that is parted at the middle. He is wearing a stiff-collared shirt with a bow tie and jacket. There is an artist signature in the bottom right-hand corner.

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, The Greek Art Printing Company. The print image was used in the publishing of a letter from National Herald newspaperman, D. Kallimachos, to Socrates School Students in the program of a Socrates School theatrical production. Greek journalists were among the influential leaders of the Greek-American community. The National Herald, and the Atlantis were the most influential for Greek-Americans. Kallimachos writes that he "applauds all Hellenes despite political preferences." This reference is due to the fact that the Atlantis was a Royalist paper, while the National Herald supported Greek Republicanism. The Socrates Greek-American School, or Socrates School, was started in 1907 when the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago began offering Greek language classes at the famous Hull House. The Socrates Greek School opened in 1908 and was renamed the Socrates Greek American School after an English curriculum was added in 1917. The image of the owl, in Western and Greek culture is a symbol of wisdom and was the symbol of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. Socrates was classical Greek philosopher who is credited as one of the founders of Western Civilization.

The content on this site is made available for research and education purposes only. The use of these materials may be restricted by law or the donor.

Any other use, such as exhibition, publication, or commercial use, is not allowed except by written permission in accordance with the NHM Image Rights and Reproduction Policy.

For questions on image rights and reproduction, please contact nhmcollections@hellenicmuseum.org