Leonardo da Vinci · Leather Edition of 298
Two hand-bound goatskin facsimiles — the Codex Madrid I and II, lost in a Madrid library for 150 years — with twenty art prints and two commentary volumes in a numbered emerald velvet case.
Two goatskin facsimiles · Twenty art prints · Two commentary books · Numbered emerald velvet case
Today $480 · Future retail 1000 USD — almost sold out, never reprinted
Ready for immediate dispatch · Worldwide delivery via DHL Express, complimentary, insured and fully tracked
Secure and trusted checkout with
EVERYTHING IN THE CASE
384 pages in the original 215 × 145 mm format: levers, gears, springs, clockwork and the machines Leonardo drew to be built.
316 pages: the Arno canal, the squaring of the circle, the flight of birds and the casting of the Sforza horse.
Both volumes hand-bound in goatskin with gold dry stamping and raised ribs on the spine.
Exact reproduction of the originals — extent, colour and size — on art paper with serrated edges.
Leonardo's mechanical drawings on Favini Plus fine art paper, for collecting or framing.
Expert commentaries on both codices and on Leonardo's life and work.
A handmade emerald green velvet case, individually numbered 001 to 298.
One of only 298 leather sets worldwide.
The story · 1490 — 1967
Some fifteen per cent of everything Leonardo wrote that scholars cite today sits in these two notebooks. For a century and a half nobody could find them — they were on the shelf all along, under the wrong call number.
A gentleman who lives alone in a mansion in Madrid, and his servants are wooden automatons. Contemporary gossip about Juan de Espina, keeper of the codices · c.1620
In Milan and Florence Leonardo fills two bound notebooks: one on statics and mechanics — levers, pulleys, gears, a water clock, a hang glider that would later be shown to fly — the other on fortification, geometry, the diversion of the Arno and the bronze horse for the Sforza.
At Leonardo's death the manuscripts pass to his pupil Francesco Melzi. Fifty years later Pompeo Leoni, sculptor to Philip II, buys them from Melzi's son and carries them to Spain.
The Prince of Wales asks for them on his visit to Madrid. Their owner, Juan de Espina, escapes the request by presenting them to the Crown. In 1712 they enter the Royal Library.
A librarian's error in the call numbers — and four moves of the Royal Library — hide the two codices for 150 years. Scholars assume them lost.
Jules Piccus, a University of Massachusetts specialist in medieval Castilian songbooks, opens the wrong volume in the Biblioteca Nacional and finds Leonardo's mirror writing.
After the original 1,099-copy edition sold out, TGB re-issues both codices in goatskin — 298 numbered sets, and no more.
Weights, gears, springs, screws and hinges — sketched in the Codex Atlanticus and fully developed here, with a precision the Atlanticus never reaches.
The 1,099-copy cloth edition closed. The leather edition is 298 numbered sets — smaller, finer, and the last time we print these plates.
The plan of Pisa and the mouth of the Arno, two musical instruments, the bronze horse that was never cast — the notebook of a man who could not stop thinking.
Leather edition of 298 · Available now
Facsimiles are printed once. When the 298th case is numbered, the plates are retired — this edition is never reprinted, and the original 1,099-copy edition has already closed.
Or take the whole library
Five editions, one shelf, one number. The Codex Madrid I & II is included — and the set costs less than buying the five separately.
Complimentary worldwide shipping · English companion volumes included · 41 fine art plates across the set.
The record · 2019 — 2026
Three have already closed. This is what a TGB Leonardo edition does: it is announced, it is numbered, and it disappears.
Two notebooks, one case
Each volume is a different Leonardo. Here is exactly what each one is.
The Treatise on Statics and Mechanics: 191 folios written upside down in Leonardo's mirror hand, devoted to levers, pulleys, gears and simple machines, the equilibrium of forces and the resistance of materials — with notes on optics and astronomy.
Fortification, geometry and the squaring of the circle; a plan of Pisa and the project to divert the Arno; sketches of the viola organista; and, in its second part, the casting of the seven-metre bronze horse for Francesco Sforza that the war of 1499 turned into cannon.
Included · Twenty art prints
Leonardo's mechanical studies on Favini Plus art paper — the same sheets we use for our museum commissions.
Collectors of the Codex Madrid
Real letters from collectors of the Codex Madrid — and of our other Leonardo editions.
★★★★★“As a collector of cultural artifacts, this is one of my latest acquisitions. I love the velvet case and the leather-bound books. I also appreciate the accompanying books.”
★★★★★“Really nice piece! It was packed really well. Its presentation is eye-catching. I look forward to other books from the vendor.”
★★★★★“I received my latest facsimiles: Madrid Codex II and the Tro-Cortesianus last week, and I wanted to say how thoroughly delighted I am with both of them! They arrived in perfect condition.”
★★★★★“Just wanted to make sure you got my thank you for the Codex. Beautiful book and well worth the wait. Thank you again.”
★★★★★“This is the third product I purchased from GALOBART and each item has been meticulously produced. I am extremely impressed with the materials and craftsmanship, as well as the superb manner in which GALOBART communicates with customers.”
★★★★★“I received this today — it's awesome, I'm very pleased with it. Great work.”
The atelier
A reprint re-typesets the text. A facsimile reproduces the object: the same trim, the same colour of the aged sheet, the same bleed of the 15th-century ink into the fibre. Ours are bound by hand, one at a time, and the number on your case is never issued again.
No risk
Open it, handle it, put it on the shelf. If it isn't what you expected, return it within 30 days for a full refund.
Numbers are assigned in order of purchase. Ordering today puts you higher in the 001–298 sequence.
Free tracked shipping worldwide, packed for transit. Damaged in transit is replaced, not repaired.
Galobart editions are held in private collections and libraries across more than 60 countries.
Questions
Two bound notebooks written by Leonardo between roughly 1490 and 1505. Codex Madrid I is his Treatise on Statics and Mechanics — levers, gears, springs and machines. Codex Madrid II covers fortification, geometry, the diversion of the Arno and the casting of the Sforza horse. Both are held by the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid.
They entered the Royal Library in 1712 and were mis-catalogued. Four moves of the library and a wrong call number kept them hidden until 1967, when the American scholar Jules Piccus, looking for medieval songbooks, opened the wrong volume and recognised Leonardo's mirror writing.
298 numbered leather sets worldwide. Each emerald velvet case is hand-numbered 001 to 298 and the edition is never reprinted. The original cloth edition of 1,099 copies has sold out.
The content is the same two facsimiles. The leather edition binds both volumes in goatskin with gold dry stamping, doubles the art prints to twenty, and is presented in an emerald green velvet case instead of the cloth slipcase — in a run less than a third the size.
A facsimile. Both volumes reproduce the original manuscripts page by page — same dimensions, same colour, same layout, Leonardo's mirror writing intact — on art paper chosen to match the originals, and are bound by hand.
Two goatskin-bound facsimile volumes (Codex Madrid I, 384 pages, and Codex Madrid II, 316 pages), twenty art prints on Favini Plus paper, two commentary volumes on the codices and on Leonardo's life and work, and the numbered certificate — all inside a handmade emerald green velvet case.
This edition is in stock and ready for immediate dispatch. Orders ship within a few days via DHL Express — complimentary, insured and fully tracked worldwide.
Yes. The Leonardo — Collector's Set brings together five editions: Codex Madrid I & II (Leather Edition), Codex Trivulzianus, Codex Leicester, Codex on the Flight of Birds (Leather Edition) and the Treatise on Painting — 1460 USD instead of 2960 USD bought separately.
Yes — complimentary shipping is applied automatically at checkout on every order, worldwide, via tracked courier. Any import duty applicable in your country is not included in the price.
Codex Madrid I & II — Limited to 298 Copies Only a small number of copies remain from this numbered edition. Once the final copy is sold, the edition will be permanently closed.
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