Diplomatic Passport France 1880

Issued to M. Georges Firmin-Didot, Attaché of the French Republic sent to his post at the Holy See (Vatican), released in Paris, 20. July 1880, stamp, signed by the chief of staff of the foreign affairs department (Georges Rabel?), excellent & fresh condition, large folio (16×10 inches). A special passport-type! Diplomatic Passport France 1880

The Didot Family was a family of French printers, publishers, and typefounders who had a profound influence on the history of typography in France. The founder of the family business was François Didot (1689–1757), who began a business as a printer and bookseller in Paris in 1713. He was best known for publishing a 20-volume collection of the works of the Abbé Prévost. Didot’s eldest son, François-Ambroise (1730–1804), altered the standard of type design by allowing higher contrast between thick and thin letters. He improved upon the Fournier standard of measurement for punch cutting and mold making; the Didot point system of 72 points to the French inch became the standard unit of type measurement. François-Ambroise also abandoned the use of classical names such as “Parisienne” and “Petit Romain” for type size and instead distinct types by their size as measured in points (e.g., 12-point or 24-point type). In 1780 he introduced a highly finished wove paper, similar to the kind used by the English typefounder John Baskerville. Diplomatic Passport France 1880

The French Third Republic was the system of government adopted in France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 after France’s defeat by Nazi Germany in World War II led to the formation of the Vichy government in France.

Diplomatic Passport France 1880

Louis XIII King of France Passport 1636 – Peace Congress Cologne