Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Oil painting portrair Michel de Montaigne in red robes and white collar

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Calvin Trillin standing in front of a refrigerator in a black and white photograph

Calvin Trillin

Robert Benchley

Robert Benchley

(1889 - 1945)

Photograph of American author Ben Tarnoff.

Ben Tarnoff

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

(1667 - 1745)

Abu Nuwas

(c. 755 - c. 814)

Color photograph of comedian and writer Rob Delaney.

Rob Delaney

black and white photo of Steve Martin wearing a white dinner jacket and black tie

Steve Martin

Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller

(1923 - 1999)

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce

(1842 - c. 1914)

Woody Allen in thick black rim glasses

Woody Allen

Photograph of English professor and author Andrew McConnell Stott.

Andrew McConnell Stott

Black and white photo of Herbert Spencer with long, hairy mutton chops and a stern expression

Herbert Spencer

(1820 - 1903)

Black and white image of French classical author La Rochefoucauld.

La Rochefoucauld

(1613 - 1680)

black and white photo of Groucho Marx wearing glasses and smoking a cigar from the side of his mouth

Groucho Marx

(1890 - 1977)

Black and white photo of Lenny Bruce being frisked by an officer

Lenny Bruce

(1925 - 1966)

David Simon sitting outside wearing an Irish driver cap

David Simon

Japanese diarist and poet Sei Shōnagon.

Sei Shonagon

(c. 966 - c. 1025)

Stanley Kubrick

(1929 - 1999)

Photograph of Soviet author Mikhail Zoshchenko in military uniform.

Mikhail Zoshchenko

(1895 - 1958)

Frances Warfield

(1884 - 1969)

black and white photograph of Sara Silverman performing at the Upright Citizens Brigad

Sarah Silverman

color oil painting of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a red tunic with gray hair

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

(1756 - 1791)

Charlie Chaplin

(1889 - 1977)

Sepia toned photograph of Lewis Carroll in a suit, reading a book

Lewis Carroll

(1832 - 1898)

Image of Renaissance humanist and scholar Poggio Bracciolini.

Poggio Bracciolini

(1380 - 1459)

Sepia colored photo of Oscar Wilde sitting on a rock with a book in his hand

Oscar Wilde

(1854 - 1900)

Colorized engraving of Voltaire wearing a wig.

Voltaire

(1694 - 1778)

Samuel Beckett, 1977. Photograph by Roger Pic.

Samuel Beckett

(1906 - 1989)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Don DeLillo standing outside in a jacket, black and white photo

Don DeLillo

Black and white photograph of Mencken looking over his shoulder at the camera

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Illustration of Plautus with red robes and hat

Plautus

(c. 254 BC - c. 184 BC)

Image of French poet François Villon.

François Villon

(1431 - c. 1463)

Painting of Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

(1588 - 1679)

color photograph of Victor Frankl with his hand on his chin looking pensive

Victor Frankl

(1905 - 1997)

Black and white photo of Harry S. Truman holding a newspaper with the headline "Dewey defeats Truman"

Harry S. Truman

(1884 - 1972)

Portrait bust of presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey Homer.

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Juvenal

(c. 60 - c. 130)

Black and white photograph of a young Mark Twain with dark hair.

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Billy Collins

Color drawing of Jane Austen sitting in a chair wearing a blue dress

Jane Austen

(1775 - 1817)

Ukrainian-born Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol.

Nikolai Gogol

(1809 - 1852)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Portrait of Philip Dormer Stanhope wearing a blue sash.

Philip Dormer Stanhope

(1694 - 1773)

Black and white photograph of American entertainer Joan Rivers.

Joan Rivers

(1933 - 2014)

Portrait of George Vasey in a suit with a long white beard

George Vasey

(1822 - 1893)

Engraving of William Shakespeare from the first folio edition.

William Shakespeare

(1564 - 1616)

Flann O'Brien in an overcoat standing next to a Dublin Diversion sign

Flann O’Brien

(1911 - 1966)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Photograph of African-American poet and writer Langston Hughes.

Langston Hughes

(1902 - 1967)

Portrait of Chinese fiction writer Pu Songling.

Pu Songling

(1640 - 1715)

Sculpture bust of Roman teacher and writer Quintilian.

Quintilian

(35 - c. 96)

black and white photo of James Thurber lighting a cigarette in the new york times office

James Thurber

(1894 - 1961)

photograph of David Foster Wallace speaking at a podium

David Foster Wallace

(1962 - 2008)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

black and white pencil drawing of Moliere in an ornate frame

Molière

(1622 - 1673)

Painting of Charles Lamb wearing a black suit against a red backdrop.

Charles Lamb

(1775 - 1834)

Painting of Jean de la Bruyère wearing a red cape.

Jean de La Bruyère

(1645 - 1696)

Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes.

Miguel de Cervantes

(1547 - 1616)

Black and white photograph of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud with cigar.

Sigmund Freud

(1856 - 1949)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Daniil Kharms looking serious with an intent stare

Daniil Kharms

(1905 - 1942)

American feminist, activist, and editor Gloria Steinem.

Gloria Steinem

Pastel drawing of George Eliot.

George Eliot

(1819 - 1880)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Henri Bergson

Henri Bergson

(1859 - 1941)

Kurt Vonnegut

(1922 - 2007)

Color mosaic of earl Church father St. John Chrysostom.

St. John Chrysostom

(347 - 407)