Facsimile handover in Berlin
Our publisher Charlotte Kramer is both, publisher of the Müller und Schindler publishing house, and of the Faksimile Verlag. This morning she personally presented the French Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, at the French Embassy in Berlin with the first copy of the precious facsimile edition of the notebooks by the European universal genius Leonardo da Vinci, an edition created in cooperation with the Institut de France, Eikon Editores and the Faksimile Verlag.
Parisian manuscripts
On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, Faksimile Verlag is publishing the famous Parisian manuscripts of the universal genius as true-to-the-original facsimile edition. It consists of twelve sketchbooks and two supplement volumes, today the largest collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s manuscripts, which is in the possession of the Institut de France in Paris.
An international team
The transnational, huge facsimile project is carried out in cooperation with the Institut de France and companies from France, Germany, Italy and Spain – all experts in their field. It is a unique and faithful reproduction, limited to 990 copies each, making it possible to make Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks available to science and the world while protecting the original works.
A renowned team of seven authors is working on the scientific commentary volume. In addition to a general overview of the themes developed by Leonardo da Vinci, there is a revised transcription and a detailed description of each individual manuscript.
In the beginning there are A, E and M
The first four volumes (manuscript A, E and M as well as supplement A) are available as facsimile edition including notes from the most diverse areas, such as the art of drawing, the properties of water, weight, and gravity as well as geometry and botany. Manuscript A comprised originally more pages, but pages 81 to 114 of the manuscript (as well as pages 91 to 100 of manuscript B) were cut out, stolen, and sold in the 1840s. Only 50 years later were they returned to the Institut de France and bound separately from the original manuscripts. As a result, there is a supplement volume (Suppl. A and Suppl. B) for both, Manuscript A and Manuscript B.
For more information:
Faksimile Verlag – Website
Faksimile Verlag – Facebook profile
Video (in German): Medieval Art Stories: Die “Geheimschrift” Da Vincis: Geheimhaltung oder Linkshänder?
Product video: Parisian Manuscripts