Codex on the Flight of Birds Facsimile Edition

In the Codex on the Flight of Birds, crafted between 1505 and 1506, Leonardo detailed numerous observations and theories that would later influence the design of the first successful airplanes in the early twentieth century. Through his pen-and-ink illustrations, Leonardo examined topics ranging from mechanical operation and metal casting principles to gravitational effects, wind and water currents on aviation, feather functionality, wing dynamics in air compression, and avian tail movement among other themes.

Furthermore, this manuscript includes architectural renderings, machine blueprints, and diagrams, yet the bulk of its pages comprise Leonardo's intricate studies and sketches on the dynamics of bird flight, analyzing how they maintain equilibrium, navigate, and execute maneuvers such as diving and ascending. These analyses are presented in Leonardo's unique mirror writing style, where text is inverted and flows from right to left.

The Renaissance Innovator of Flight and Technology

Beyond his achievements in Renaissance artistry, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) harbored a keen interest in technological advancements. He devised plans for various innovative devices, some intended for military application, such as an armored vehicle and underwater diving gear. Among the diverse topics Leonardo explored, the concept of human flight through mechanical means captivated him deeply. He dedicated over 35,000 words and 500 illustrations to the study of aerodynamics, conceptualizing both a glider and a prototype helicopter, alongside investigations into the properties of air and avian flight patterns.

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 in 1893, Otto Lilienthal, the first man to fly, and the Wright Brothers were aware of Leonardo's theories.

A Very Intricate History

The manuscript's history through the early modern period is intricate, involving the removal and sale of five folios in London during the mid-nineteenth century. After Leonardo's death, his pupil Francesco Melzi inherited it, and later Pompeo Leoni obtained it among other manuscripts, organizing them with his own numbering system. By 1637, it was donated by Count Arconati to the Ambrosian Library, only to be moved to the Institut de France in Paris by Napoleon in 1797. The Codex was then stolen by Guglielmo Libri between 1841-1844, with some sheets sold in London and ending up with bibliophile Charles Fairfax Murray, while the remaining portion sold to Count Giacomo Manzoni of Lugo.

Post-Manzoni’s death, the majority of the codex was acquired by the descendants of Giacomo Manzoni in 1867, who subsequently sold it to Teodoro Sabachnikoff, a Russian Renaissance scholar. Sabachnikoff, who who also came to possess one of the folios from the London sale (folio 18), published the codex's first print edition in 1893, incorporating the London-acquired folio as an appendix, yet still missing four detached folios. On the last day of 1893, Sabachnikoff donated the manuscript to Queen Margherita of Italy, who then entrusted it to the Royal Library of Turin. The addition of folio 17 in 1913 further completed the codex, with Enrico Fatio, a collector from Geneva, acquiring and eventually donating the remaining folios (1, 2, and 10) to King Victor Emmanuel II, thereby reassembling the document. The codex was finally bound in 1967 and stored unlisted in a vault until it was catalogued in February 1970 as Varia 95.