Frontispiece for 1612-13 King James Bible.

The Bible

Photograph of English essayist, poet, and biographer John Addington Symonds.

John Addington Symonds

(1840 - 1893)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Photograph of American writer William T. Vollmann.

William T. Vollmann

Photograph of journalist, author, and professor Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Photograph of British writer Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl

(1916 - 1990)

Black and white photograph of German writer Hermann Hesse.

Hermann Hesse

(1877 - 1962)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Portrait of King James I.

James I

(1566 - 1625)

Portrait of English lyrical poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834)

Quintus Curtius Rufus

(c. 41 - c. 79)

Portrait of English essayist and critic Thomas De Quincey.

Thomas De Quincey

(1785 - 1859)

Portrait of Chinese scholar and official Lin Zexu.

Lin Zexu

(1785 - 1850)

Depiction of German abbess and mystic St. Hildegard.

Hildegard of Bingen

(1098 - 1179)

Photograph of American novelist and short story writer Stephen Crane.

Stephen Crane

(1871 - 1900)

Image of American lawyer and autobiographer Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

(1815 - 1882)

Portrait of French writer Stendhal.

Stendhal

(1783 - 1842)

Photograph of German literary critic Walter Benjamin.

Walter Benjamin

(1892 - 1940)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Photograph of American poet Countee Cullen.

Countee Cullen

(1903 - 1946)

Photograph of American clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison.

Kay Redfield Jamison

Photograph of journalist and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Fitz Hugh Ludlow

(1836 - 1870)

Image of French writer Honoré de Balzac with hand on chest.

Honoré de Balzac

(1799 - 1850)

Depiction of Plymouth colony governor William Bradford.

William Bradford

(1590 - 1657)

Ernest Hemingway standing between two large hanging fish

Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Photograph of American humorist and author David Sedaris.

David Sedaris

Black and white photograph of Emily Dickinson sitting next to a desk.

Emily Dickinson

(1830 - 1886)

Portrait of English poet John Keats.

John Keats

(1795 - 1821)

Color portrait of German theologian and reformer Martin Luther.

Martin Luther

(1483 - 1546)

German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels

(1820 - 1895)

Photograph of literary agent and author Bill Clegg.

Bill Clegg

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Black and white photograph of a young F. Scott Fitzgerald sitting at a desk.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 - 1940)

Rebecca Lemon

Black and white photograph of Irish poet and writer W. B. Yeats.

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Image of Japanese poet Ōtomo Tabito with horse.

Ōtomo Tabito

(665 - 731)

Photograph of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis.

Dock Ellis

(1945 - 2008)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Photograph of American novelist Jack London.

Jack London

(1876 - 1916)

Image of Japanese poet and essayist Yoshida Kenko.

Yoshida Kenko

(c. 1283 - c. 1351)

Portrait of Scottish biographer and diarist James Boswell.

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795)

Theognis

(c. 570 BC - c. 490 BC)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

Photograph of American writer William S. Burroughs.

William S. Burroughs

(1914 - 1997)

Depiction of chief of the Miami tribe Little Turtle.

Little Turtle

(c. 1752 - 1812)

Photograph of American author Dennis Covington.

Dennis Covington

Photograph of African American abolitionist and U.S. diplomat Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass

(c. 1818 - 1895)

Photograph of American comedian and film star Harpo Marx.

Harpo Marx

(1888 - 1964)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Engraving of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny the Elder

(23 - 79)

Depiction of Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam

(1048 - 1131)

Chinese poet Li Bai seated.

Li Bai

(701 - 762)

Image of Scottish poet, journalist, and author Charles Mackay.

Charles Mackay

(1814 - 1889)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Black and white image of Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca the Younger.

Seneca the Younger

(4 BC - 65)

Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

Depiction of Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Black and white photograph of French writer and film director Marguerite Duras.

Marguerite Duras

(1914 - 1996)

Color portrait of the Italian writer and libertine Giacomo Casanova.

Giacomo Casanova

(1725 - 1798)

Portrait of Anglo-Irish essayist, poet, novelist, and dramatist Oliver Goldsmith.

Oliver Goldsmith

(1730 - 1774)

Photograph of American feminist and author Anne Roiphe.

Anne Roiphe

Photograph of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.

Jack Kerouac

(1922 - 1969)

Photograph of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.

Albert Hofmann

(1906 - 2008)

James Joyce

(1882 - 1941)

Portrait bust of Greek historian Xenophon.

Xenophon

(c. 430 BC - c. 351 BC)

Photograph of journalist Nick Reding.

Nick Reding

Photograph of German writer Patrick Süskind.

Patrick Süskind

Photograph of American jazz musician Art Pepper with saxophone.

Art Pepper

(1925 - 1982)

Photograph of Irish playwright and novelist Frank O'Connor.

Frank O’Connor

(1903 - 1966)

Photograph of American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler.

Raymond Chandler

(1888 - 1959)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Black and white photograph of Sven Birkerts sitting in front of a bookshelf.

Sven Birkerts

Portrait bust of Greek lyric poet Archilochus.

Archilochus

(c. 740 BC - 680 BC)

Joan Didion

(1934 - 2021)

Portrait of English physician John Elliotson.

John Elliotson

(1791 - 1868)

Kingsley Amis

(1922 - 1995)

Photograph of American author Jacqueline Susann.

Jacqueline Susann

(1921 - 1974)

Black and white photograph of American poet and novelist Sylvia Plath.

Sylvia Plath

(1932 - 1963)

William Biddulph

Photograph of American writer Francine Prose.

Francine Prose