Pulley hoists and the pupil as a concave mirror
Block-and-tackle mechanisms and an optical note on magnification
The sheet is filled with mechanical sketches: at the lower left a pulley-and-tackle hoist raises a suspended weight, while the upper drawings show tripod-mounted mechanisms, one identified in the text as a lantern-bracket ('viticcio di lanterna'). A short phrase, 'Tell me how…', is jotted at the left. A note below sets out an optical observation — that the eye makes small things on its surface appear large because the pupil is a concave mirror — comparing it to a water-filled glass ball that makes whatever is placed inside or outside it appear larger.
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Pulley-and-tackle hoist and lantern bracket
A block-and-tackle at the lower left raises a suspended weight through a system of pulleys, while the upper sketches show tripod-mounted mechanisms. One of the drawings is identified in the notes as the scroll-bracket ('viticcio') of a lantern.
The pupil as a concave mirror
Leonardo asks why the eye makes small things on its surface appear large, answering that the pupil is a concave mirror. He compares it to a glass ball full of water, which makes whatever thing is set at its side, inside or outside, appear larger.