User:KRSciller/Didot family

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Pierre Didot (son of François-Ambroise Didot) was born in 1760 and died in 1853. Pierre Didot and his brother Firmin inherited their father's business in 1798. Pierre started to shift the focus of the press to sophisticated, collectible books. Big books with large margins, exquisite artwork, and exquisite typesetting were all designed by Pierre. In addition, the books frequently had opulent bindings. Pierre hired modern painters to illustrate his works which he then printed the words in a new typeface that his brother had created especially for it. To edit the images, Didot enlisted the services of artist Jacques Louis David. Of his work Virgil, David created five of the images. Pierre Didot was also a poet and translated in verse the fourth book of Georgics, the first books of Horace's Odes, and wrote a number of original poems. Pierre Didot was awarded a gold medal at the exhibition of 1798, for his edition of Virgil. By order of the Government, his presses were established in the Louvre, where they remained during the Consulate. The celebrated Louvre editions are Virgil (1798), Horace (1799), Racine (1801–5), La Fontaine (1802), and Boileau (1816).