Publisher and Year: New York: Works Publishing Company, 1944
Edition: First edition, fifth printing (stated), issued January 1944. One of just 5,000 copies. In the original dust jacket, with fifth printing stated on the spine and front flap. The fifth printing was the last of the "Big" Big Books, retaining the large 9¼ x 6¼ inch format, wide margins, and heavy paper of the 1939 first printing. Subsequent printings were noticeably smaller. The text retains the revisions introduced in 1941: Appendix II (“Spiritual Experience”) present and the story “Lone Endeavor” omitted. The title page and foreword were updated to “more than ten thousand men and women." Issued just under five years after the first printing, this copy is a relic of AA's formative years, capturing the transition from a fragile experiment to established institution.
Condition and Description: Large octavo, baby blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt, title in blind on front board, 410 pp. Boards soiled and stained. Gilt bright but rubbed. Hinges and binding tight. Name and address of Sidney Reed (1886 - 1949) to the front free endpaper in ink, a veteran of World War I (SGT, 52nd Infantry Regiment). A star in pink pencil is present on the margin of p 10. No other writing, underlining, or prior owners' markings. Creasing to pp. 368-370, as shown. The original jacket retains strong color, but is rubbed and toned, with minor patches of soiling and staining, a vertical crease along the length of the spine, a small mark in ink on both the front panel and front flap, and losses to the edges and spine ends. Accompanied by an early reprint of the 1946 "Twelve Points to Ensure Our Future," and two meeting schedules, one of which is dated 1984.
“We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines.”
A pivotal early printing of the foundational text of the AA movement and one of the most consequential works of American nonfiction in the 20th century. Issued in January 1944, this fifth printing was limited to just 5,000 copies and marks the end of the original large-format “Big Book.” It stands at the hinge point between the fragile, word-of-mouth years and the wider wartime expansion, when membership topped ten thousand and the text began to stabilize in its modern form.
Inventory ID: 411 - 519 - 146
Publisher and Year: New York: Works Publishing Company, 1944
Edition: First edition, fifth printing (stated), issued January 1944. One of just 5,000 copies. In the original dust jacket, with fifth printing stated on the spine and front flap. The fifth printing was the last of the "Big" Big Books, retaining the large 9¼ x 6¼ inch format, wide margins, and heavy paper of the 1939 first printing. Subsequent printings were noticeably smaller. The text retains the revisions introduced in 1941: Appendix II (“Spiritual Experience”) present and the story “Lone Endeavor” omitted. The title page and foreword were updated to “more than ten thousand men and women." Issued just under five years after the first printing, this copy is a relic of AA's formative years, capturing the transition from a fragile experiment to established institution.
Condition and Description: Large octavo, baby blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt, title in blind on front board, 410 pp. Boards soiled and stained. Gilt bright but rubbed. Hinges and binding tight. Name and address of Sidney Reed (1886 - 1949) to the front free endpaper in ink, a veteran of World War I (SGT, 52nd Infantry Regiment). A star in pink pencil is present on the margin of p 10. No other writing, underlining, or prior owners' markings. Creasing to pp. 368-370, as shown. The original jacket retains strong color, but is rubbed and toned, with minor patches of soiling and staining, a vertical crease along the length of the spine, a small mark in ink on both the front panel and front flap, and losses to the edges and spine ends. Accompanied by an early reprint of the 1946 "Twelve Points to Ensure Our Future," and two meeting schedules, one of which is dated 1984.
“We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines.”
A pivotal early printing of the foundational text of the AA movement and one of the most consequential works of American nonfiction in the 20th century. Issued in January 1944, this fifth printing was limited to just 5,000 copies and marks the end of the original large-format “Big Book.” It stands at the hinge point between the fragile, word-of-mouth years and the wider wartime expansion, when membership topped ten thousand and the text began to stabilize in its modern form.
Inventory ID: 411 - 519 - 146
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