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The history of the point.(Frank Talk)(measurement system for type)
The Great Chicago Fire, one of the first corporate conglomerates, and a badly printed ruler helped forge the unique measurement system for type. Simon Fournier proposed a system of 72 points per inch in 1737, and published a printed scale for reference. Depending on the weather, the printed scale changed in size. Since the ruler was used as a reference, printers and font makers suffered from inconsistent tools and measures. In 1770 Francois Didot proposed a solution by defining a point as exactly 1/72 of a French inch. (A French inch is equal to 1.0638 English inches.)
Type sizes were originally named. Catalogs with such names appeared a early as 1592. Some of the names came from the type of …
