history of the voynich manuscript

Date

Event

About 1420 [i]

Author unknown

(?)

Rudolph II (1576-1612), Emperor of Bohemia, obtained the VMS from an unknown person for the sum of 600 ducats in Prague [ii]

1608-(?)1622

Jacobus Horcicky de Tepenecz („Jacobj à Tepenece“) (?-1622), Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Alchemical Laboratory of Rudolph II owns the VMS [iii]

1637 [iv]

George Baresch ("Barschius") writes to Athanasius Kircher in Rome if he could decipher the VMS. [v]

27 April 1639

Baresch writes to Kircher again, asking if he received his former letter. [vi]

19.08.1665/66

Joannes Marcus Marci (1595-1667), official physician of Rudolph II in Prague, sends the VMS to Kircher accompanied by an autograph in which he is telling, that Dr. Raphael Missowsky [vii] told him, that "the said book had belonged to the Emperor Rudolph and that he presented the bearer who brought him the book 600 ducats". [viii]

1666 and 1667

"Godefrid Aloys Kinner [...] asked Kircher [...] on Marci's behalf whether Kircher had made any progress in deciphering the book that Marci had sent to him." [ix]

1912

Wilfrid M. Voynich, antiquarian bookseller, acquires the VMS [x] at Villa Mondragone from the Jesuits [xi]

1912-1930

Wilfrid M. Voynich owns the VMS [xii]

1930-1960

Ethel Voynich owns the VMS [xiii]

12.07.1961

Hans P. Kraus, antiquarian bookseller, purchased the VMS for $ 24,500 in New York [xiv]

1969

Hans P. Kraus presented the VMS to the Beinecke Rare Book Library of Yale University [xv] [xvi]

1963 (?)

Hans P. Kraus visits the Vatican Library and meets Monsignor Jose Ruysschaert, who thinks the VMS was still in the library [xvii]