Rectangular wood and cast lead printing block. The print image consists of an Ionic column along the right-hand side. Crossing the column horizontally about half way between the top and bottom of the block is the image of a cruise ship. The ships bow is on the left side of the block and the stern is cut off by the edge of the print block. The name "Olympia" is visible on the bow of the ship. Towards the base of the Ionic column are two rectangular pictures. The top picture is of a scene in a dining hall with people in suits and dresses seated at tables with dancing couples and a band in the background. The bottom picture is of a swimming pool scene with people swimming in the pool and lounging around the pool's edge. On the left half of the print block is large blocks of text that read: "An invitation to nisit Greece on the TSS Olympiameet men friends and renew old aquaintances... visit the ancient glories of our beautiful land. Your Tourist dollars are a welcome aid, buy much more over there. Make a date to sail on the magnificent "Olympia"... always first choice of fellow Greeks. TSS Olympia, 23,000 tons... fastest to Greece... 16 public rooms and many two-bed staterooms with shower and toilet at low Tourist rates! Enjoy the excitement of a Mediterranean cruise, via Lisbon, Naples and Messina... on the ship designed for Greeks, by Greeks. The "Olympia" is truly your ship... in spirit in service, in the superb cuisine and wines. When you step aboard, you're in Greece! See your travel agent, Greek Line, General Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. of Greece." Along the bottom is a line of cities: "New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal."

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 printing block was used in the printing of an advertisement for the Greek Line passenger ship service in the Pammessenian News, which was the official Greek and English-language newpaper of the Pan-Messenian Federation of America. The Greek Line was the informal name of the General Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. of Greece. Greek Line was a passenger ship service that provided trans-Atlantic, as well as shorter voyages, from 1939 to 1975. The TSS Olympia was the only ship specially built for the Greek Line. She was built in Scotland in 1953 and began running from Piraeus to New York in 1955, with the route exteded to Haifa, Israel in 1961. Between 1968 and 1974 Olympia was used largely as a cruise ship. In 1974 she was laid up by financial problems experienced by Greek Lines. Between 1981 and 2009 the Olympia was bought, renamed, and sailed by several different companies. In 2009 she was sold for scrap and demolished. The Olympia was one of the longest serving passenger ships in history.

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