Published by the author at 609 Broadway, New York, undated but probably between 1855 and 1870.
Original cloth covered boards with pasted on paper label, later cloth spine, oblong format (18 x 27 cm.)
1 engraved title leaf, ten leaves of engraved plates; blank interleaves between plates (one separator leaf missing).
Title on paper label on cover: McLees's alphabets.
Flyleaf signed Thos. E. French (see below)

Very scarce copy.

Born in Ireland in 1817, Archibald McLees emigrated with his family to Canada . Young Archibald went to work on Maiden Lane in New York city as an apprentice, then worked as an engraver. Archibald eventually went on his own and became the country's most well-known engraver. He made plates for bank notes, engraved all the Spencerian Script alphabets for Platt Rogers Spencer, published a book of alphabets for sign printers, and was called to Washington to engrave plates for the country's first paper currency. Archibald had a large family, including several sons who carried on the engraving business in lower Manhattan through the early 1900s. Archibald moved his family to Rutherford, N.J. in the late 1800s. He passed away 1890.

Thomas Ewing French was an engineer, author, traveler, artist, gourmet, and hobbyist. French was born November 7th, 1871 in Mansfield, Ohio and was the son of Rev. Daniel Houston French (1831 - 1901) and Janette Mathews (1841 - 1919).

The family moved to Dayton, OH in 1879 where Thomas attended public schools, Cooper Academy, and Miami Business College. From 1888 – 1891 he worked at Smith-Vale Company as a Draftsman and later as Chief Draftsman. Also, while in Dayton during those same years, he was an Instructor of Mechanical Drawing at the Dayton YMCA evening school. In the Fall of 1891, he enrolled at Ohio State University (OSU) to study Mechanical Engineering. While a student, he also worked at OSU as an Assistant Instructor from the Spring of 1893 to 1895.

Career
Upon his graduation in June 1895 from Ohio State University, the university hired him as a full-time faculty member where he remained until his death on November 2nd, 1944 at the age of 72. Including his student days, this was a span of 53 years. In 1906, he was promoted to Professor of Engineering Drawing and Head of the Department of Engineering. This was the original Department of Engineering Drawing at OSU and soon became a national collegiate change from the term mechanical drawing. This change led to similar department name changes throughout the United States and eventually abroad.

Among French's professional awards were a Doctor of Science Degree, Monmouth College (1921), Lamme Medal for Meritorious Achievement in Engineering Education (awarded by SPEE in 1943), and Lamme Medal for Outstanding Contributions to the Engineering Profession (awarded by Ohio State in 1943). He was also a member of America Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Society for Promotion of Engineering Education (SPEE), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Athletics
French was credited with having fathered the idea of the Ohio Stadium, completed in 1922. He was Ohio State's first and only faculty representative in the Big Ten, from 1912 until his death in 1944. In 1912, he became the second President of Ohio State's Athletic Board and hired Ohio State's first athletic director, John Richards. In the 22 years from Ohio Stadium's inception until his death in 1944, French saw football attendance grow to 40-thousand at most games - still well short of the dream and stadium capacity. French Fieldhouse at OSU is named in his honor.

Published Works
Professor French authored and co-authored many textbooks, but is best known for his book Engineering Drawing. This book was published from 1911 through 1993 covering fourteen editions, published in multiple languages, and used in the curriculum of several hundred colleges and universities throughout the world.

As an author of textbooks, Professor French is perhaps unequalled by anyone else in his field in the world. The following quotation is taken from the Ohio State University Monthly, February 1935, p. 148: "Not only is he famous as the 'father of the Stadium' idea, but his textbook, A Manual of Engineering Drawing, has taken the name of Professor Thomas E. French, Mech. E., '95 into 400 colleges and universities throughout the world. It is the most widely used text on engineering extant." The fifth edition of this book is now used by engineering students in schools throughout the world, and has been translated into several different languages.

This book became a best seller for the McGraw Hill publishing company, and reportedly its sales kept the company from bankruptcy during the depression.

Bookplates
French designed bookplates including many of those used in the Ohio State University Library, many other libraries (New York Library, Franklin College in Indiana, and Denison University), and for the archaeologist William C. Mills. French twice won the National Prize for best bookplate of the year.