Firmin Didot is the inventor of a revolutionary printing technique, using stereotypes. A stereotype (also known as a cliché), was a solid plate of type metal, cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme of type and used for printing instead of the original. By creating a stereotype, printers could easily reprint documents and free their equipment for other work. The stereotype thus changed the way books, especially novels, magazine articles and other popular forms of literature were reprinted, saving printers the expense of resetting. Didot used the process extensively, revolutionizing the book trade by his cheap but beautiful editions. His manufactory was a place of pilgrimage for the printers of the world. Didot was appointed by Napoleon as the director of the Imprimerie Impériale typefoundry.
This neatly printed Latin Phaedrus edition, together with his life and the sententiae of Syrus, is one of his first editions printed with the new technique.
In good condition. Schwabe/Barbier, 117.