Thread of stunning first-edition book covers🧵

1. The Hobbit, drawn by Tolkien himself, 1937 2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, 1900

The handwriting of famous authors - thread 🧵

1. A manuscript revised by James Joyce 2. Fyodor Dostoevsky's manuscript draft of The Brothers Karamazov

Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger from January 1879 to November 1880.

He died less than four months after its publication.

The famous last words of big thinkers 🧵

1. In his final moments, G. K. Chesterton declared: "The issue is now clear. It is between light and darkness, and everyone must choose his side.” 2. According to Giorgio Vasari, regarded as the father of Western art history, Leonardo da Vinci confessed on his deathbed that he had offended God and mankind because his work had not reached the quality it should have.

Thread of memorable lines from classic novels

1. “Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” — Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray 2. George Orwell, Animal Farm

Thread of the most beautiful Gustave Doré's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy 🧵

1. Dante and Beatrice gaze at the Empyrean 2. The dark forest

Rare footage of famous writers - a thread 🧵

1. How did Ian Fleming name James Bond? 2. Arthur Conan Doyle on Sherlock Holmes

Thread of the world's most beautiful libraries

1. Trinity College, Ireland 2. Saint Florian Monastery Library, Austria

The most beautiful personal libraries on Earth

1. Jay Walker’s library, Connecticut 2. Umberto Eco walks through his immense library

Lessons from history's greatest writers 🧵

1. John Steinbeck's letter to his son will change the way you look at love 2. "Learn to do everything lightly" by Aldous Huxley

It’s 11/11, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s birthday.

Here's a thread that delves into the complexities of the human soul through the wisdom of one of the greatest writers of all time 🧵

1. "Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing." 2. "Above all, don't lie to yourself.

The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others.

And having no respect he ceases to love."

Thread of the world's most beautiful libraries

1. Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, Brazil 2. Trinity College, Ireland

Thread of Leonardo da Vinci's coolest drawings

1. A 1502 map of Imola, deemed the "most accurate of its time", and the modern Google Earth photo of the same city. 2. The "Vitruvian Man"

This drawing, inspired by the writings of the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, was described by Carmen C. Bambach as "ranked among the all-time iconic images of Western civilization".

Thread of the most iconic photographs of the most influential writers of the late 19th and early 20th century 🧵

1. Oscar Wilde 2. Mark Twain

Thread of paintings inspired by Shakespeare’s plays 🧵

1. Romeo and Juliet by Frank Dicksee 2. Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais, 1851–2

Thread of the most beautiful bookshops on Earth 🧵

1. Livraria Lello, Portugal 2. Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, Italy

Thread of memorable lines from classic novels

1. “There always comes a time in history when the person who dares to say that 2+2=4 is punished by death” — Albert Camus, The Plague 2. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

Thread of the most beautiful libraries on Earth

1. Trinity College, Ireland 2. Municipal Law Library, Germany