Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum

Prima [et Secunda] pars Promptuarii iconum insigniorum à seculo hominum, subiectis eorum vitis, per compendium ex probatissimis autoribus desumptis. (transl. 'The First [and Second] Part of the Storehouse of Images of the More Notable Men from the Beginning of Time, with Their Biographies Subjoined, Taken in Abbreviated Form from the Most Approved Authors.') is a compilation of woodcut portraits published in 1553 by Guillaume Rouillé, a French merchant-publisher active in the early modern book trade of Lyon. Originally released in Latin, French, and Italian editions, the book presents portraits in a medallion format, arranged mostly in chronological order. It spans figures from the Old Testament and Greco-Roman mythology to notable individuals of the mid-16th century. Many of these portraits are imaginative rather than historically accurate, shaped by Rouillé's interpretations of physiognomy and the engraver's artistic discretion. Though the engraver remains unidentified in the text, 19th-century bibliographer Henri-Louis Baudrier attributed the work to Georges Reverdy.

The book is divided into two sections: Prima pars ('First Part'), covering figures predating Christ, and Pars secunda ('Second Part'), documenting individuals from the Christian era onward. Published as a single volume, these sections maintain separate pagination systems. The first editions each contained 828 portraits with accompanying biographical summaries, though the textual authorship remains debated. The book's commercial success led to subsequent editions in multiple languages, which included a Spanish edition in 1561. The 1577 French edition expanded the collection with approximately 100 additional engravings, placing greater emphasis on Renaissance humanist scholars. The portraits mimic the style of ancient coinage but lack the numismatic precision required for scholarly reference. Rouillé aimed to simplify complex histories through standardized imagery and concise narratives, making the past more accessible to a general audience. His compilation influenced European iconographic collections for decades, shaping how historical figures were depicted in them from the late 16th century into the 17th.