Firmin Didot
The printing company still exists under the name Firmin Didot, Societe Nouvelle.
Firmin Didot – born 1764 in Paris, France, died 1836 in Mesnil-sur-l’Estrée, France – punch cutter, type founder, printer, publisher, author. Studied classical languages. 1783: cuts his first typefaces and reworks his father’s roman alphabets.
1797: is granted a patent for his developments in the field of stereotype printing. His typefaces are used in his brother Pierre Didot’s "Editions du Louvre" series. 1812: he is made director of the Imprimerie Impériale type foundry. 1823: one of his tragedies is performed at the Théâtre de l’Odeon.
Adrian Frutiger’s Didot font is a sensitive interpretation of the French Modern Face Didot by Firmin Didot.
* TYPOGRAPHY – An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History by Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott (Editor), Bernard Stein, published by Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.