Codex Leicester
Page of the Codex Leicester
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| Author | Leonardo da Vinci |
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| Country | Florence, Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Genre | Handwriting |
| Published | 1510 (1504-1508) |
| Pages | 72 (18 sheets) |
The Codex Leicester (also briefly known as Codex Hammer) is a collection of famous scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci. The Codex is named after Thomas Coke, later created Earl of Leicester, who purchased it in 1719. Of Leonardo's 30 scientific journals, the Codex may be the most famous of all. The manuscript holds the record for the sale price of any book, when it was sold to Bill Gates at Christie's auction house on 11 November 1994 in New York for US$30,802,500.
The Codex provides an insight into the inquiring mind of the definitive Renaissance artist, scientist and thinker as well as an exceptional illustration of the link between art and science and the creativity of the scientific process.
The manuscript does not take the form of a single linear script, but is rather a mixture of Leonardo's observations and theories on astronomy; the properties of water, rocks, and fossils; air, and celestial light. The topics addressed include:
The Codex consists of 18 sheets of paper, each folded in half and written on both sides, forming the complete 72-page document. At one time the sheets were bound together, but they are now displayed separately. It was handwritten in Italian by Leonardo, using his characteristic mirror writing, and supported by copious drawings and diagrams.
The Codex was purchased from the Leicester estate in 1980 by wealthy industrialist and art collector Armand Hammer, who purchased the manuscript at auction, for $5.1 million, later renaming the notebook Codex Hammer. Hammer commissioned Leonardo da Vinci scholar, Dr. Carlo Pedretti, to compile the loose pages of the codex back into its original form. Over the next 7 years Dr. Pedretti translated each page to English, completing the project in 1987.
The Codex was sold to Bill Gates by Christie's auction house on 11 November 1994 in New York for US$30,802,500. After Gates acquired the Codex, he had its pages scanned into digital image files, some of which were later distributed as screen saver and wallpaper files on a CD-ROM as part of a Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 desktop theme, which would later be included with Windows 98 and Windows ME. A comprehensive CD-ROM version (simply titled Leonardo da Vinci) was released by Corbis in 1997.
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