He worked there as a bookbinder, editor of texts, and corrector for the press, serving such clients as Jean Grolier de Servières.
Several years after joining the Collège de Bourgogne, he resigned his post and moved to Italy so as to better study Italian art.
[6] In 1514 Tory married Pierrette Le Hullin, the widow of a friend of his, fathering a daughter named Agnès.
In the months following her death, Tory wrote several pieces of poetry, claiming how lucky he was to have had such a daughter, and how her life influenced him.
In 1524 he discovered The Book of Hours, and in 1525 Geoffroy published a copy, which became famous because he introduced there a type design that was free of the idea of printing which duplicated handwriting.
In the introduction to Champfleury, Tory is quoted as saying that there are three different kinds of men who corrupt the French language; the "skimmers of Latin", the "jokers", and the "slangers".
It was subtitled "The Art and Science of the Proportion of the Attic or Ancient Roman Letters, According to the Human Body and Face".
[12] Champfleury was not as stylized as The Book of Hours, but it gives great insight into the mind of Tory, his pedantic attitude and his meticulous devotion to the French Language.
[13] Tory used a square grid to describe the shape of letters, which eerily predicts the use of pixelation in modern-day typefaces.
The Book of Hours success led to Tory's being granted specific privileges by King François I to publish his own works.