INTRODUCTION

the figures shaded in watercolor and retouched with two shades of ink, as in the figures on the other sheets.

It is not possible to determine which page of Folios 15 and 16 is the rectoThe front side of a leaf of paper. and which is the versoThe back side of a leaf of paper., because they were trimmed on both the right and left sides; however, their height is the same as that of the other sheets.

Two sheets, 17 and 18, of double size, are made of the same paper as the other fourteen and share the same characteristics; Folio 17 was trimmed at the sides; both have a blank verso.

There are therefore eighteen sheets and thirty-four pages in total. The writing is always, according to Leonardo's custom, from right to left Leonardo da Vinci was famously left-handed and wrote in "mirror writing," which is read from right to left., and the figures number two hundred and forty-five.

The method adopted in this publication is the same as that already used for the Codex on the Flight of Birds 2; it consists of a diplomatic transcriptionA precise, letter-by-letter copy of the original manuscript, preserving all original spelling and abbreviations., a critical transcriptionAn edited version of the text adjusted for modern readers, with standardized spelling and punctuation., and a translation.

We repeat here what we stated for the Codex on Flight: the diplomatic transcription reproduces with the greatest accuracy everything contained in the sheets; it is essentially a second reproduction in typographic characters, accessible to everyone.

We also note here that the joining of words does not follow fixed or constant rules, and sometimes the author's intention is not clear or evident; therefore, following Leonardo's way of writing as closely as possible, in doubtful cases we have joined or separated words according to usual rules, taking into account the usage of the time.

The critical transcription, while scrupulously preserving the integrity of Leonardo's writing, will only change certain incidental details whose modification is essential for correct understanding. Abbreviations will be expanded, words separated regularly, and missing letters, accents, apostrophes, and punctuation added; we will also make use of signs and combinations

2. Codex on the Flight of Birds and Various Other Matters original: "Codice sul volo degli uccelli e varie altre materie". Published by Teodoro Sabachnikoff. Transcriptions and notes by Giovanni Piumati. French translation by Carlo Ravaisson-Mollien. Paris, Edouard Rouveyre, Publisher, 1893 original: "MDCCCXCIII".