Codex Leicester

Leonardo's notebook sets out, among much else, his view that mountains were once sea beds and his explanation of earthshine on the Moon. Thomas Coke, later Earl of Leicester, bought it in 1719 from the painter Giuseppe Ghezzi, and it stayed with the Leicester estate until 1980, when Armand Hammer bought it at auction for $5.1 million and renamed it the Codex Hammer. Bill Gates bought it at Christie's in New York on 11 November 1994 for $30,802,500, then the most paid for any book. It has since been unbound, mounted page by page, and shown in a different city about once a year.

1. 1719

   Bought by Thomas Coke from Giuseppe GhezziA

2. 1980

   Bought at auction by Armand Hammer for $5.1 millionA

   Renamed the Codex Hammer.

3. 11 November 1994

   Bought by Bill Gates at Christie's for $30,802,500A

4. 2000

   Shown at the Powerhouse Museum, SydneyA

Created by

Leonardo da VinciA

Owned by · 1719–1759

Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of LeicesterAmedium confidence

Owned by · 1980–1994

Armand HammerAmedium confidence

Owned by · from 1994

Bill GatesAmedium confidence

Associated with · 1994

Christie'sAmedium confidence

1. A

   Wikipedia, 'Codex Leicester'

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