Description
The Most Expensive Book Int The World
The Codex Leicester primarily focuses on Da Vinci’s thoughts relating to water — tides, eddies and dams — and the relationship between the Moon, the Earth and the Sun. In general, it contains texts and drawings on hydraulics, but also on geology, astronomy, mechanics, paleontology and other scientific and technical aspects.
In 1717, Codex was bought by the first Count of Leicester, sir Thomas Coke. Then sold at auction from the Leicester estate in 1980 to wealthy industrialist and art collector sir Armand Hammer for USD 5.1 million (USD 15.5 million in 2018 USD), later renaming the notebook Codex Hammer.
The manuscript currently holds the record for the second highest sale price of any book, as it was sold to Bill Gates at Christie’s auction house on 11 November 1994 in New York for USD 30,802,500 (equivalent to $52,068,300 in 2018).