First of all: try to get in touch with Jean François Porchez. Frutiger you can contact via Linotype; but he is pretty old now.

I am desperately looking for books or other sources that are based on scientific evidence. Especially on some facts.

Out of context this sounds reasonable enough, but in this context I'm having a hard time figuring out what you're really looking for... Could you explain?

I want to show when it first got revealed, by whom, why, where, how popular it was, its ....

A small -and very old- tidbit you might enjoy:
http://typophile.com/node/138

About the Baskerville connection: Bodoni was a great admirer of John Baskerville, and went on a trip to visit him. But he got sick along the way (in fact even before even leaving the borders of Italy) so he never made it.

First printed thing with Didot font was "La Henriade" (Voltaire)

Huh, interesting. When Beaumarchais brought Baskerville's punches to France to cast new type, it was to print Voltaire's complete works! BTW if you need any French passages translated just send them over.

Concerning what might be fruitful to pursue: since the Didone style is so "dramatic" it would be interesting to see how much compromise is required when shooting for text sizes (since smaller sizes of type benefit by having features anathema to the Didone style). I believe a style have its preferred size range, and outside of that range it's not really itself. Can a Didone still be a Didone at 10 point?

Lastly, I would offer this favorite quote of mine:
"Bodoni would be an admirable letter for a death notice."
– W. G. Ovink

hhp

Thank you for your fast answer.

Out of context this sounds reasonable enough, but in this context I'm having a hard time figuring out what you're really looking for... Could you explain?

I mean I need primary sources, not secondary sources because of academic integrity.
It should be a scientific research, at least as far as I am able to do so. So I'm looking for proves for the facts I wrote, for example the ones I found at ilovetypography.com because this source would not be scientific.

About the Baskerville connection: Bodoni was a great admirer of John Baskerville, and went on a trip to visit him. But he got sick along the way (in fact even before even leaving the borders of Italy) so he never made it.

Okay. You say that. But where is the source for this information? I know I can believe you, but I don't think that you found that out yourself, did you? So I'm looking for primary sources that prove these facts. Did you read this in a book? Is there another good book that is English or German and tells such interesting facts?

Huh, interesting. When Beaumarchais brought Baskerville's punches to France to cast new type, it was to print Voltaire's complete works! BTW if you need any French passages translated just send them over.

I don't know if you misunderstood me here. I meant, I read that the first printed thing those Didot types (fonttype Didot itself that Firmin released) were used was the Henriade and that it was printed by his brother Pierre with sterotype method. I don't know what you mean with this. Voltaire's work is older then Didot and already was printed some times before of course. I didn't mean "La Henriade" was printed first by Firmin Didot but the first thing he printed with the new typeface was "La Henriade"
But this are facts I also only read at the www. I want books that tell me more about it. And if possible in English or German.

Thanks for offering me translations, but I couldn't even find the passages I need, I don't understand one word. So I can't use French books.

I believe a style have its preferred size range, and outside of that range it's not really itself. Can a Didone still be a Didone at 10 point?

This could be interesting. But maybe I need more original prints to compare.

That quote. True. Didn't look at the typeface like that till now. Always thought about soldiers, esp. because I read about that comparison already, but it could be gravestones too, indeed. I think it's even the better metaphor because it includes that gravestones can look elegant and beautiful.

About the graph:
It's interesting that the gap between use and revival becomes smaller over the years. Maybe the need of more different typefaces was rising at about 1900. What does "Modern" mean? Modern, maybe already "digitzed" typefaces? Bodoni revived before Baskerville, it followed then. Hm.
Why can't I find Didot in it? And in books it is missing sometimes too. I recently bought a book "Wegweiser Schrift", and it tells some facts about specimen and stuff, of course Baskerville, yes, and Bodoni, and OH YES, Walbaum, too. But Didot? No. Why?

Btw: I just wrote an e-mail to Mr. Porchez.

Sorry again, I know my English is hard to understand. Thanks for going through it though.
Thanks for helping me, I admit it!

> the first thing he printed with the new typeface was "La Henriade"

According to the French wiki Firmin Didot, La Henriade is dated 1819. Could you just check the digital scan of the Camões, Os lusiadas, dated 1817?

For primary sources, you should look for examples of early printed work from the Didot printing house. I did a quick search on Google Books for with the search words firmin didot and the search restricted to items published between 1784 and 1800. I did not check everything, but the earliest book that I saw which appears to be in Didot's type is this from 1790:
http://

(I hope this is visible in Europe. Google Books restricts French items for legal reasons, but I think this should be old enough to be safe.)

Thinking a bit more, I realized Firmin's name would not necessarily be found on books printed when he was still young, so I did a search on didot for books published between 1784 and 1789 and found many more examples, one of which (from 1784) should have turned up before:
http://

Here is another "Google book", this time in German, containing the Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung, Mittwochs, den 9ten August 1786, that makes a review (page 267) of a book printed with Firmin's characters in 1786; the book contains the Épitre above, in upright characters.

@hrant, I found the source to what you wrote about the visit Bodoni/Baskerville in "Anatomy of a typeface", page 119.

Thanks for the article about the didot's press, that's interesting. I think I underestimated Google Books a bit..
This one was very helpful, the letters are well printed and scanned enough so I can use it as historic example. And yes, Michel, it proves I was wrong. Thank you so much!

Thank you very much, I borrowed two more books and am starting to sort all information into columns so I can print this pretty soon. Our docent mentioned that we should print as cheap as possible, so I guess I'm going for a brochure "only" after all

Thanks a lot for your help!
Have a nice weekend.

Ah, thank you! I'll try to remember that for future reference.

hhp

199, not 119, sorry.

Too late - I already embedded "119" into my long-term memory. ;-)

hhp

Meh.. i knew it! :F