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 bookseller-publisher active in the early modern book trade of Lyon. Originally issued in Latin, French, and Italian editions, the book presents the portraits in a medallion format, largely arranged in a supposed chronological order. The subjects range from figures of the Old Testament and Greco-Roman mythology to contemporary individuals of the mid-16th century. Many of the portraits are imaginative rather than historically grounded, shaped by Rouillé's interest in physiognomy—the study that sought to relate facial features to character and personality—and by the engraver's artistic license. Although the engraver is unnamed in the text, the 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. Typically bound as a single volume, these sections maintain separate pagination systems. The earliest editions contained 828 portraits each, with accompanying biographical summaries; the authorship of these biographies 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 and placed greater emphasis on Renaissance humanist scholars. The portraits mimic the style of ancient coinage but lack the numismatic precision required for scholarly reference. Rouillé simplified complex histories through standardized imagery and concise narratives so that the past would be more accessible to a general readership. His compilation influenced how individuals were depicted in European iconographic collections from the late 16th century into the 17th.
