Didot, François (fräNswäˈ dēdōˈ) [key], 1689–1757, Parisian
printer. The son of a printer, Denis Didot, he was the first of
the family to win fame in his craft. His son, François Ambroise
Didot, 1730–1804, was said by Benjamin Franklin Bache to be the
best printer of his time. Bache was apprenticed to Didot by his
grandfather, Benjamin Franklin. The scholarly and typographic
excellence of Didot's books is unquestioned. Influenced by the
work of Baskerville, he designed type in the modern,
pseudoclassical style, and his work in turn influenced that of
Bodoni. Didot improved the point system of measuring and naming
sizes of type, first employed by Pierre Simon Fournier, and
secured its general adoption in France. His sons, Pierre Didot,
1761–1853, and Firmin Didot, 1764–1836, continued the family
tradition, producing handsome books, mostly classics, with well-
chosen texts conscientiously and skillfully edited. The Didot
family never overlooked the requirements of students and general
readers for good but inexpe