Baths of Caracalla

This is a vintage woodcut engraving titled "Baths of Caracalla." It is in excellent condition and was published in an illustrated history of Greece and Rome in 1882.
The image measures approx. 7 by by 10 inches, and the overall size is approx. 11 by 14 inches with generous margins on all sides, not seen in the scanned photo.. It is printed on a heavy stock paper blank on the reverse side. The paper is mildly age toned.
This is not a modern reproduction. This is a very fine woodcut engraving, over 120 years old, and guaranteed to be as described.

Price  $22

Item #  3480

"The infamous Caracalla (A.D. 188-217) was the emperor who extended Roman citizenship to all freemen in the empire—largely, it is held, to raise taxes for such projects as his wildly popular bath. In the many years of its greatness, the complex must have been staggering both in size and opulence: it originally accommodated some 1,600 bathers as well as other activities such as sports and theatricals. The underground vaulted facilities for servicing the calidarium (hot baths) and tepidarium (lukewarm baths) were incredibly complex. In semiruins today, the bath remains impressive, especially on summer evenings, when it is used for staging opera."

he central mass of the building measured 390 feet wide by 740 feet long. The largest room, the vaulted tepidarium, measured 82 by 170 feet. The inside height of the tepidarium has been estimated at 125 feet.


From G. E. Kidder Smith. Looking at Architecture. p32.