Research Catalog

Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester

Title
Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester [electronic resource].
Author
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519.
Publication
Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.

Available Online

  • Available from home with a valid library card
  • Available onsite at NYPL

Details

Additional Authors
  • Laurenza, Domenico
  • Kemp, Martin
Description
1 online resource (4 volumes) : illustrations (some color)
Summary
Leonardo's greatest work of science beautifully reproduced for the 500th anniversary of his death.0This edition offers a high-quality facsimile reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci's Codex Leicester, a collection of his scientific writings. Named after Thomas Coke (later Earl of Leicester) who purchased it in 1719, Codex Leicester holds the record as the most expensive book ever when it was bought by Bill Gates in 1994. Consisting of 72 pages, it was handwritten in Italian by Leonardo using his characteristic mirror writing, and is supported by drawings and diagrams. The Codex Leicester is an extraordinary mixture of Leonardo's observations and theories. Topics include his explanation of why fossils can be found on mountains; the flow of water in rivers; and the luminosity of the moon which Leonardo attributed to its surface being covered by water which reflects light from the sun.0The facsimile reproduction is complemented by three further volumes that include a new transcription and translation, accompanied by a paraphrase in modern language, a page-by-page commentary, and a series of interpretative essays. These four volumes together introduce important new research into the interpretation of the texts and images, on the setting of Leonardo's ideas in the context of ancient and medieval theories, and above all into the notable fortunes of the Codex within the sciences of astronomy, water, and the history of the earth, opening a new field of research into the impact of Leonardo as a scientist after his death.
Uniform Title
Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester (Online)
Alternative Title
Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester (Online)
Subject
  • Coke, Thomas, Earl of Leicester, 1697-1759 > Library
  • Codex Leicester
  • Codex Leicester (Leonardo, da Vinci)
  • Hydrodynamics > Early works to 1800
  • Hydraulics > Early works to 1800
  • Science > Early works to 1800
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (volume 4, pages 273-301) and index.
Access (note)
  • Access restricted to authorized users.
Language (note)
  • English text with original Italian and English translation.
Contents
volume I. The Codex -- volume II. Interpretive essays and the history of the Codex Leicester -- volume III. Transcription and translation -- volume IV. Paraphrase and commentary.
LCCN
2019935955
OCLC
ssj0002449287
Author
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519.
Title
Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester [electronic resource].
Imprint
Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.
Edition
A new edition, First edition / editorial matter, Domenico Laurenza & Martin Kemp.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (volume 4, pages 273-301) and index.
Access
Access restricted to authorized users.
Language
English text with original Italian and English translation.
Connect to:
Available from home with a valid library card
Available onsite at NYPL
Added Author
Laurenza, Domenico.
Kemp, Martin.
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519. Codex Leicester.
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519. Codex Leicester. English.
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