Sources

Sources are given in no particular order. As always on site, any opinions or reviews are entirely subjective. Note that all of the Maestro's works are in the public domain, whatever may be asserted by some sites.

Available online (see links below) is Richter's work "The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci" translated along with commentary by Jean Paul Richter (lived 1847-1937), and published in 1883. All the known Da Vinci papers as of the mid-19th century are included except the Codex Atlanticus.

Beam to Summary of Codices for a list of the names and contents.

The Codex Atlanticus is a collection of more than a thousand sheets of the scientific and technical drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, put together at the end of the sixteenth century by Pompeo Leoni, a sculptor. Leoni was trying to organise Leonardo's work into categories, cutting and pasting drawings from original notebooks on to the atlas-sized pages that give the Codex Atlanticus its name. Some drawings were damaged in the process and others lost. History continued to be unkind to the drawings. The Codex was appropriated by Napoleon Bonaparte at the end of the 18th century. The Codex was returned from Paris to Milan in the mid-19th century. Early photographers, most fortunately, captured images of the sheets on huge glass plates, and these formed the basis of a luxurious reproduction in 1906 of the entire Codex. The original sheets were poorly restored in the 1950s and the early photographs are more valuable to historians than the original sheets. Copies of the 1906 edition (comprising a collaboration between the Accademia dei Lincei, Italy's national academy, and the publisher Anthelios) are now very rare, but an exhibition of part started on worldwide tour beginning in various European cities including London at the Victoria & Albert Museum (I am unlikely to visit due to residual mobility problems after an accident), which ends 7th January 2006, and travelling to the USA and Japan in 2007.

This means that to Leonardo fans like me who are very interested in the Maestro's machines (unsurprising, as I am interested in United Federation of Planets technology!) that we are unable to read the Codex Atlanticus for ourselves except for the infrequent and usually short excerpts given in books etc. Often those are not cited, though to a Leonardo fan it is obvious they come from the Codex Atlanticus, or no source reference is given such as the folio reference. This means, in turn, that I am less happy about (re-)quoting such excerpts, and am unable to give the precise reference. Facsimiles of the Codex Atlanticus, and other Codices, can be purchased, e.g. http://www.finns-books.com/ says it has facsimiles to sell but I have not bought from them and know nothing about that company.

Taschen publichsers at www.taschen.com advertise a book which they say comprises all of Leonardo's paintings and drawings, but they mainly present a complete catalogue. Of the images themsleves, only 663 are presented (though that is still a lot!), arranged by category (architecture, technical, anatomical, figures, proportion, cartography, etc). Over half of the drawings included were provided from the Royal Library in Windsor Castle, Windosr, England, courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, marking the first time that Her Majesty has allowed a publisher to reproduce so many of the collection's drawings (only some of the priceless Royal Collection belongs personally to Her Majesty, the rest are hers but are inalienable i.e. in effect they belong to the nation and she cannot personally sell them, so if items are bought or sold they are done so in her name though her permission is technically sought).

Web source Project Gutenberg Complete text, no images, of Leonardo's literary works. Added to archive 1st January 2004. See also below.

Web source Sacred Texts Richter's book, added to archive 17th April 2006. The site claims to have "the complete literary works of Leonardo da Vinci" but patently this is not the case as the Codex Atlanticus, for one, is omitted - see above about the Codex Atlanticus. Sacred Text uses the Project Gutenberg e-text, with extra work including scanning missing material, formatting to match the copytext and hyperlinking. I have now read every word, though there were places where my eyes glazed over, and I recommend it (the reading not glazed eyes). I found remarkably few misprints which were attributable to modern lack of proof-reading rather than to Richter.

Richter's knowledge is impressive, as well as its range, with only a few factual errors. The full Web publication of Richter's work is terrific, and of course fantastic for Leonardo fans. Richter's work is not covered by copyright, as it was published many decades before U.S.A. copyright laws (the first being 1st January 1923), and elsewhere I believe it is in the public domain.

Web source Reuteler A few images of the Maestro's work plus web links.

Web source Euroweb. A more useful site than the one below, though only because Euroweb pages can be saved normally, to enable the fast method of browsing of saving pages to view offline.

Web source Web Gallery of Art  A comprehensive site. But pages, which are presented in a frames format, although they can be opened in non-frames format for which they provide a link on most pages, it looks as if one can save the page normally but it produces blank pages. Instead, select and save the text and save the image(s) separately.

Web source Artchive I love webmaster Mark Harden's wordplay name for his site. Compared to the two sites above, this is a small archive but ever-growing.

Web source The Da Vinci Store From knowing that Star Trek production staff who need to obtain certain props, who work under severe time pressures, often purchase model kits or other merchandise, both Star Trek and non-Star Trek, I wondered when I saw Janeway examining a model of (Holo-)Leonardo's flying machine whether it was a kit that the production staff had bought and simply put together. Rather, I wondered that when doing the DVD screenshots to replace the VHS ones. I felt inordinately pleased with myself when I found The Da Vinci Store as it seemed to prove my theory, although that particular site started selling the model after [79 Concerning Flight] was filmed, but its models must have been available elsewhere long before then. In the Personal Log entry for that episode, there are comparison screenshots which I believe prove that the show's production staff did indeed buy a model.......thereby saving themselves the time and effort of having to make one. I have not purchased from The Da Vinci Store as the models are rather expensive and my home is already taken up with Federation starship models and model Daleks.....maybe in my next house..... The same applies for the model of the Aerial Screw.

Web source Jason Goodman presents pictures of the Leonardo flying machine model which he put together. A very "feels friendly" and informative site.

Web source www.leonardo3.net Pages in English were mostly down when I visited, but Italian ones were online allowing images to be seen. However, images of the Maestro's machines are too small to see detail well at 800x600. If one browses at 1024x768, it would be harder still. Sometimes their site logo (overlarge in proportion to the images) appears right across detail rendering it impossible to see. I suspect that is because the site does not want visitors to download images and/or wants them to buy its CD-ROM - see below for information about it.
I believe that either the authors of the book cited below collaborated with www.leonardo3.net or else are actually part of that website organisation, because the digital mock-ups are identical, and so many of the diagrams and notation and key colours are also the same. I thought of buying www.leonardo3.net's interactive CD-ROM, as it allows one to see the models work through digital animation, and includes a book although publicity excerpts suggest that its contents might be a re-organisation of the above-mentioned book - the publicity does not say, for instance, how many of da Vinci's machines are covered in-depth. See below, including red alert.
The site also details how they create the virtual models, and I suspect from the interface screenshots which are familiar to me that they are using a version of Vue which is a 3-dimensional graphics program (see below for the version I use).

Sourcebook "Leonardo da Vinci: Life and Work" by Elke Linda Bucholz, ISBN 3-8331-1463-0, published by Konemann. Excellent, highly recommended, compact but readable style, full of facts and illustrations. Good value for money at only 4.99 pounds sterling. Bucholz makes two major errors: firstly, the papacy returned to Rome from Avignon in 1377 but Bucholz states 1417; and secondly, the year of Leonardo's death was 1519 not 1518 as stated by Bucholz. In one or two other places, Bucholz gives a quote about Leonardo or quoting record of words by an historical figure but irritatingly does not cite the source. There may be other errors which, as I am unaware they are errors, I would have inadvertently accepted as being facts, unless made aware of them being errors through reading other sources.

Sourcebook "Leonardo's Machines: Da Vinci's Inventions Revealed" text by Domenico Laurenza, edited by Mario Taddei and Edoardo Zanon, published by David & Charles, ISBN-13: 978-0-7153-2444-8 and ISBN-10: 0-7153-2444-6, originally published in Italy in 2005, first published in the UK in 2006, now available in the USA (ensure you obtain it in the language you want).

PERSONAL REVIEW of "Leonardo's Machines: Da Vinci's Inventions Revealed"
1. I recommend highly this gorgeously and frequently illustrated, detailed, large-size (and physically heavy) book. I concur with the following inside jacket-cover blurb: "From da Vinci's descriptions and drawings, - and by using digital imaging - armoured ships, winches and machines destined for use in war, work and pleasure emerge fully equipped and functional in stunning 3-dimensional, computer-generated artworks. A fascinating in-depth discussion of da Vinci's work and inventions accompany these illustrations."
2. Due no doubt to space constraints only 32 (of over 100) of the Maestro's machines are covered (a selection of those in the Codex Atlanticus), though each is covered in-depth resulting in quality rather than quantity. At 17.99 pounds sterling, 34.99 Canadian dollars, 24.99 U.S. dollars, the price is good value for Leonardo fans but less so for those with only limited interest. Whilst doing research for this Da Vinci site section, I became a Leonardo da Vinci fan. Well, I already was a fan to some extent. Now I find that the book does not cover anything like the range I would like. A sequel would definitely be appreciated. www.leonardo3.net explains that they plan to do more digital mock-ups etc.
3. If there is a sequel, it would be nice if the illustrations that span two pages could be done as fold-outs to avoid losing detail in the dip of the spine. Otherwise to see everything properly all the time, the book's spine will soon end up damaged and pages come out.
4. On the assumption that the book and website are one and the same or in close collaboration, I note the following in this part. I had a problem with trying to purchase, as follows. When I clicked several of their site's links to purchase the CD, it instructed me to enter my personal details and credit card information into the form onto a non-secure web page with an "http://" URL only, despite the specific claim on that page that the website was secure and used SSL. I did not purchase and queried that with the site, along with a few pre-sale queries e.g. about the self-installing software that comes with the CD (they provided no information except to confirm it was "self-installing software"). They put up a secure "https://" page but I have just checked and it is not there now. One can purchase by banker's draft via snail mail instead if wished. Computer guru friends advised me to avoid any site not knowledgeable enough to automatically provide a secure webpage for credit card details. The site should now be aware of the security problem but, as the secure page was not there when I checked, either they have moved it or, if you wish to pay by credit card, I advise you insist the site administrator put up a secure webpage for you.

Web source: Museum of Science, Boston, USA A short and basic account of Leonardo, and in some places an eccentric choice of which facts to mention and which to omit. The account lacks many important (and interesting) facts and is presumably intended merely to encourage visitors to the Museum to find out more.

Web source: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., United States A shorter account than the Boston Museum of Science's, but more factual with a pleasingly compact style. It is designed less for surfers wanting information about Leonardo than for visitors to the Museum's website as it seems intended to whet the appetite of would-be visitors to the actual Museum.

Web source: The Wanderling Short exposition on Leonardo's attempts to design a flying machine. Apart from one or two images, image quality is poor, but it does have a nice animated .gif of the Maestro winking.

Web source: All Posters Posters of selected works by Leonardo - nice whether or not you buy something. Do not always expect informed labelling of the Maestro's works.

Web source: Wikipedia One of the most useful sites on the Web, for almost any subject. It is easy to be distracted and end up surfing all kinds of topics that one did not go there to look up.

Thanks to Web source: George Hart for his thorough study of Leonardo and Luca Pacioli regarding the geometry interest. He is organising a commemorative exhibition celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Pacioli/Leonardo book, for 2009, which includes three-dimensional constructions of Leonardo's illustrations (example shown left) - see his site for details.

Web source: bacro photos Approximately 70 images of Leonardo's works particularly paintings.

CD source: The Oxford Interactive Encyclopaedia

Book source: Chambers Biographical Dictionary

Source: newsletter of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, England for this image of Florence (shown at reduced size) by that busy person Anon., after the style of Francesco Rosselli. I knew the painting existed but was close to exhaustion from searching the Web for it when perchance I found it in the newsletter.

Quite a number of Leonardo's works (as digital reproductions!) as well as one or two by other artists are from my personal collection.

The Da Vinci site section is best viewed in Black Chancery font which comes automatically pre-installed in the standard Windows configuration.

if you want to buy the font from the same place I did, click here: www.fonts.com

I created the scroll image(s) which form the page backgrounds to the Da Vinci section by adapting the Paint Shop Pro tutorial by Dee's Enchanted Expressions. I added the (deliberately faded) Leonardo self-portrait drawing to the scroll background in articles that are more about Leonardo than Holo-Leonardo, by adapting the drawing from my personal collection. I planned to have it as a fixed background but then realised that the frame setup might not allow for it properly in certain high resolution sizes.

Easel in page title banners and page links by Tracirose. Sample shown left.

The images shown at reduced size below were conceived and realised by me, with artwork elements as follows:
   
the full-size version of the righthand image varies randomly per page load

• rope barriers by Karen's Korner where they are called "stanchions".
• random furniture change components are from the CD-ROM library and Jaddell's Graphics or are combinations. Ceiling light from Jaddell's Graphics.
• the room layout in the righthand picture is from a room tutorial by Jaddell's Graphics.
• the picture frame is a stock picture frame in Paint Shop Pro version 8.

This image, which indicates the end of each article in the Da Vinci site section and if clicked goes to the Index, is by Freefever

For the section "Leonardo's Life" I created Leonardo's Room and his Secret Room image maps with Vue 5 Esprit, a 3-dimensional graphics package from E-On Software which I recently purchased. I spent so long comparing available 3-D graphics programs that soon after I bought it, the manufacturer released the next version in Beta, so if you wish to buy it you may want to wait for the tested new version. Leonardo's Room was my first-ever serious creation with Vue, done while still acquainting myself with the program, and due to the learning curve it took many hours. Many artwork elements were contributed by Maniak from "Interior Construction Kit" and "Hobbit House", and what I call the Borgia Chalice is by Rodluc, all available at www.renderosity.com. Otherwise room concepts, layout/furnishing designs, and realisation, were done by me. Comments:

• The Mona Lisa painting is too large, but that is deliberate because if smaller it would not be seen especially at high-number resolutions.
• As Leonardo's Room is two stories high, I knew the chandlelier (which I like to call candlelier to distinguish it from ones with electric bulbs and is crucially one less character when naming items in Vue) should hang lower, but when I lowered it it got in the way of the view.
• I envisage the four doors on the left going alternately upstairs and downstairs, otherwise they would lead to the same place or else a tiny room each. The aim was of course principally to create a viable image map.

Click thumbnail images below to see Leonardo's Room at various times of day:

The image shown left is a combination of stock picture tubes in Paint Shop Pro version 8 and I added text in Black Chancery font.