The earliest known printed book with illustrations by a woman

Her name was Geronima Parasole and she lived in Rome in the late 16th century. She signed her work with her initials – ‘G.A.P’.

Her woodcuts for a Italian translation of a book on Roman coins was published in 1592, making it very likely to be the first illustrations by a woman to appear in a book.

Research shows that in the sixteenth century only 35 women are known to have been artists with Geronima and Isabetta Parasole as the only women who contributed to book illustration in the period.