Draft of a letter to his father; spiked-device studies
A tender opening to a letter, above faint leadpoint sketches of the recto's spiked devices
Across the top of the leaf runs the drafted opening of a letter to a father, thanking God for news of his health and expressing distress at his hardship. Below, in faint leadpoint, are the same clusters of spiked, radiating members and mechanisms drawn in ink on the recto. The Ambrosiana groups the leaf with geometrical studies on the squaring of surfaces and on a sphere resting on another at a single point.
On this page
Opening of a letter to his father
'Dearest father', the draft begins, acknowledging a letter received on the last day of the previous month that brought both pleasure and sadness. Pleasure at learning he was well, for which the writer gives thanks to God, and grief at hearing of his hardship.
Faint sketches of spiked devices
Beneath the letter, faint leadpoint sketches repeat the spiked, radiating members of the recto. They are lightly drawn and largely ghosted or offset through the sheet.