Codex Atlanticus (I-III)

The Codex Atlanticus is the largest single collection of drawings and writings (in Italian) by polymath Leonardo da Vinci, containing 1,119 paper leaves (2,238 pages) arranged into 12 leather-bound volumes. Its size and scope has led art historian Carlo Pedretti to recognize it as the most important of Leonardo's manuscripts. The pages are in various sizes, "from folded sheets to minute fragments". They range from 1478 to 1519 and cover Leonardo's entire professional career through Florence, Milan, Rome, and Amboise.
The codex contains drawings and writings on a diverse range of subjects, including studies and sketches for paintings, works on mechanics, hydraulics, mathematics, astronomy as well as philosophical meditations and fables. It also has many inventions such as parachutes, war machineries and hydraulic pumps.