DIDOT, the name of a celebrated family of French printers and publishers.
D., Fu_kxgois, the first of the family that attained eminence, was b. in 1689, and d. in 1757. His principal professional achievement was the publication of the Voyages of his friend the abbe Prevost, a work in 20 volumes, perfect as regards the text, and enriched with a great number of engravings and geographical maps. D. had eleven children, of whom two—Ficois AmunotsE D. (b. d. 1804) and PIERRE FnANcots D. (b. 1732, d. 1795)—acquired considerable distinction as printers. HENRI D. (b. 1765. d, 1852), eldest son of Pierre Francois, made himself famous as an engraver, letter founder, and mechanician. He was 66 years old when he engraved, for lus,well-known " microscopic" editions of eminent authors, those characters which are the he plus ultra of typographical art. A daughter of the third son of Pierre Francois married Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, who was for some time associated with the Didots in their paper mann factory of Essonne; and in his country-house near this place wrote his Paul et Virginie. PIERRE D., eldest son of Francois Ambroise (b. 1760, d. 1853), still further increased the fame of the family. His Louvre editions of Virgil, Horace, Racine, and La Fontaine are magnificent. At the exhibition of the products of industry in 1801, a jury declared his Racine to be "la plus parfaite production typographique de tons les ages. Besides a great number of works, not less remarkable for their typographical perfection than for their literary value, such as the Voyages de Denon, D. published a collection of the French chefs-d'oeuvre, dedicated Aux arms de l'Art Typographigue. D. was also an able littgrateur.
Finwx, brother of the preceding, and son of Francois Ambroise D., was b. at
Paris in 1764. As a printer, and especially as an engraver and founder, he raised the family name to the pinnacle of professional eminence. The absolutely perfect Roman characters used in the Louvre editions printed by his elder brother, were engraved and cast by him. Firmin D. applied the stereotyping process to the Logarithmic Tables, of Caller, a work that required to be executed with the most rigorous accuracy, and which, through this means, is perfectly free from error or blemish. The whole of the French, as well as most of the Italian and English classics, were published by him according to the same process. These stereotypic editions (the word stereotypic was invented by Fir min D.) were wonderfully correct and cheap; Virile is without a blemish, is ornamented with vignettes, and was sold for 15 sous (71d.); it was a kind of revolution in the book trade of France. The most distinguished foreigners were accustomed to visit D.'s establishment as one of the great sights of Paris. The emperor Alexander, when in Paris in 1814, minutely examined every department of it; and placed under D. two young Russians, to be instructed in all the branches of typography. Some of the most celebrated continental printers served their apprenticeship with him. In 1827, Firmin D. retired from business, to devote himself wholly to his duties as depute. A sage friend of freedom, he attached himself to the moderate and constitutional opposition, headed by Royer Collard. D. also obtained considerable reputation as an author by his tragedies, La Rine de Portugal and La Arort and several volumes of metrical transla tions from the classics. He died 24th April, 1836.