COLOMBIA - Commemorative cover Grace Line - Face value: 5 Centavos - Cover issue date: January 7th, 1933 - Themes: Armed Forces, Independence, Politicians, Presidents, Freedom fighters, Bogota, Santander, Villa del Rosario, Asunción de Popayán, Francisco de Paula Santander [1792- 1840], Camilo Torres Tenorio [1766-1816], Grace Line - Images: Portraits of Camilo Torres Tenorio & Francisco de Paula Santander - Michel 240 + 242 - Y&T 210 + 213 - Scott 340 + 342 - SG 358 + 360 - Cancellation: NEWARK.

For most of its history, Grace's main business was cargo shipping, operating the Grace Line. To get cargo from Peru to North america and Europe, including guano and sugar and noticing the need for other goods to be traded, William Grace founded a shipping division. Grace Line began service in 1882, with ports of call between Peru and New York. Regular steamship service was established in 1893, with a subsidiary called the New York & Pacific Steamship Co., that operated under the British flag. Ships built outside the United States before 1905 were banned from the US registry. US-flag service began in 1912 with the Atlantic and Pacific Steamship Company. The activities of both companies and the parent firm were consolidated into the Grace Steamship Company beginning in 1916. The firm originally specialized in traffic to the west coast of South America; then later expanded into the Caribbean.

 SS Santa Rosa (later SS Athinai) was a passenger and cargo ocean liner built for the Grace Line for operation by its subsidiary Panama Mail Steamship Company of San Francisco. She was the first to be launched and operating of four sister ships, the others in order of launch being santa Paula (11 June 1932), Santa Lucia (3 October 1932) and Santa Elena (30 November 1932). All four ships, dubbed "The Four Sisters" and "The Big Four" were noted as the finest serving the West Coast and were of advanced technology. All served in World War II as War Shipping Administration (WSA) troop ships. Both Santa Lucia and Santa Elena were lost in air and torpedo attacks off North Africa.

The ship was ordered in 1930 from the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company of Kearny, New Jersey. Her regular route included inter-coastal service between the east coast and the west coast of the US via the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. She was the second of ultimately three vessels to bear the name Santa Rosa for the Grace Line [The first Santa Rosa was a 1917-built ship that was sold in 1925].