Codex Leicester

Bill Gates, cofounder of Microsoft, is a well-known enthusiastic reader, and his private library is stocked with rare volumes chosen by a licensed book dealer. In 1994, he acquired "Codex Leicester," a 16th-century manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci. He spent $30.8 million at auction for the notebook, making it the most costly book ever sold.

Gates has loaned the notebook to a number of institutions this summer. The Codex Leicester, which is now on exhibit at the Minneapolis Art institute, will move to the Carolina Art museum in Raleigh on 31 October. Prior to its exhibition in Minneapolis, the text was on display at the Phoenix Arts Center.

The 72-page notebook, written between 1506 and 1510, gives a unique view inside da Vinci's thoughts, filled with drawings, schematics, and early revisions of ideas. The "Codex Leicester" is one of thirty scientific publications attributed to Da Vinci, although many see it as the most significant. The text was written in typical Da Vinci's renowned mirror-image manner, which requires that the words be viewed from the right to the left. The words were portrayed in an archaic form of Italian and are translated on touchscreens located around the exhibit.

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Price at launch: $30.8 million

Author: Leonardo da Vinci