Publisher's description:
This unprecedented editorial project began in 1964.
That year, after a careful and rigorous evaluation by the academic community, a decree by the President of the Italian Republic awarded the management and facsimile reproduction of all the works by Leonardo da Vinci to the Florentine publisher, Giunti.
For the first and only time, the owners of the works by Leonardo throughout the world gave their consent to directly access the originals for this official reproduction.
State-of-the-art techniques combined with extraordinary workmanship made it possible to reproduce faithfully and reunite the originals in the only facsimile edition in the world.
The amazing, monumental collection entitled National Edition of the Manuscripts and Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci presented here in came about in this manner.
Only 998 copies of each facsimile work, hand numbered from 1/998 to 998/998, are available worldwide. Each facsimile is accompanied by a Certificate of Guarantee attesting to its originality and unique character, along with a signed Notarised Certificate.
Over the years facsimiles have been acquired by public and private, national and international collections and, like the originals, they have been jealously guarded, to such an extent that today only a few exemplars are still available.
The Codex 'On the Flight of Birds' has been studied over the course of the centuries and it is almost certain that as a result of the first published (incomplete) edition of the work, of 1893, Otto Lilienthal, the first man to fly, and the Wright Brothers were aware of Leonardo's theories. Compiled between 1505 and 1506, the codex analyses bird flight based on the studies made by Leonardo upon his return to Florence relating to gravity and the science of weights as part of a project for the 'flying machine', initially conceived as a device with flapping wings moved by human muscles, and, subsequently, as a glider using the air currents. During this period, Leonardo's work is characterised by an emphasis on observation related to the concept of natural phenomena as dynamic, complex processes that tie into his studies on wind, motion and anatomy. In addition to his studies on flight, the manuscript contains notes on mechanics and botany, architectural projects and hydraulic studies for the fountain spurts and water games in the gardens at the country villa of Charles d'Amboise.
The facsimile is accompanied by a text volume by Augusto Marinoni containing an introduction, diplomatic and critical transcriptions, and indexes.