Locked inside Yale University’s Beinecke Library vault resides the Voynich manuscript, one of the world’s most mysterious texts.
The book contains of a combination of images and writings that have never been decoded, despite the laundry list of the world’s best cryptographers, including World War I and II codebreakers, that have given it their best shot.
Rumor has it that the answers that lie on the pages within the manuscript, named for antiquarian Wilfrid Voynich, hold magical powers. The book which was purchased by Voynich in 1912, is believed to have been written between 1404 and 1438 and will be cloned by a small publisher, Siloe, in northern Spain.
After a decade long quest to secure the rights, 898 exact copies will be reproduced down to the smallest detail. This will allow greater access to the fragile document that will hopefully finally lead to a successful translation. So far about 300 of the planned copies have been reserved and will sell between a cool 7,000 to 8,000 Euros or $7,800 to $8,900.
Rumors have been swirling for over a century about the book’s author, from Roger Bacon to a young Leonardo Da Vinci to a teenage alien. The pages consist of plants that have never been identified, animals that don’t exist, astronomical charts that lead to nothing and then a plethora of naked women to top it off.
Initially a popular theory was that Voynich forged the manuscript himself, but thanks to the marvels of modern science the book is dated over 200 years before his birth. So, it may still be a hoax, but one that predates the man for which it is named for.
So, if you have nearly $10,000 burning a hole in your pocket this could be your chance to gain some worldwide exposure as the person who finally solves the unsolvable. And when you do, hit me up as some of the pages are missing and that sounds like a hell of a treasure hunt to me.