Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum
1553 book published in Lyon, France / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prima pars Promptuarii iconum insigniorum à seculo hominum, subiectis eorum vitis, per compendium ex probatissimis autoribus desumptis. (listenⓘ; transl. 'The first 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.') or Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum[lower-alpha 3] for short is an iconographic collection of wood engravings authored and published by French humanist, numismatist,[5] publisher and bookseller Guillaume Rouillé in Latin, French and Italian in 1553, in Lyon, France. The book's initial editions contain 828 portraits, designed as medallions, of figures some of whom are mythical and some historical. The portraits are listed in chronological order, beginning with those of Adam and Eve and ending with those of renowned individuals from the mid-16th century, each accompanied by a summarized biographical text. In a 1577 edition, approximately 100 more portraits were added.
Author | Guillaume Rouillé |
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Illustrator | Georges Reverdy[2] |
Language |
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Subject | |
Publisher | Guillaume Rouillé |
Publication date | 1553 |
Publication place | France |
Media type | |
Pages |
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OCLC | 716696497 |
Text | Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum at Internet Archive |
The contents are divided into two parts: Prima pars ('first part') covers those who supposedly or historically lived before the birth of Christ while pars secunda ('second part') deals with those who did during or after his lifetime. The two parts are usually bound into one book, albeit with separate pagination. The book does not mention the engraver's name; the portraits have been typically attributed, however, to Piedmontese engraver Georges Reverdy [fr; it]. Many of the portraits were based on depictions from ancient coins, but Rouillé did not intend his work to be a numismatic or academic reference text. The book instead appealed as a collection of brief, well-written and illustrated history lessons to a broader audience and became a bestseller in its era.