BILL WILSON, 1939

Details

SIGNED FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
BILL WILSON, 1939
[WILSON, William Griffith ("Bill") (1895–1971).] Alcoholics Anonymous. New York: Works Publishing Company, 1939.
Octavo (230 × 151mm). (Lightly toned, ink annotation on title-page). Publisher’s red cloth, lettering in gold on upper cover and spine (upper hinger split, pencil marks on cover’s title); dust-jacket (soiled, rubbed, chipped along head and tail, closed tear at head of lower panel, few small hole in upper fold); custom red cloth box.

Provenance

Vincent A. C— (ownership inscription and address; “first edition” written on title; inscription from Bill, dated 2 Nov. 19[5?]6).
acquired from Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, 24 February 2021

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Peter Klarnet Senior Specialist, Americana

pklarnet@christies.com +1 212 636 2668

Lot Essay

First edition, first printing, signed by Bill Wilson.

This copy is inscribed by Bill Wilson on the front free endpaper: “To Vincent, In great regards. Ever, Bill.”

The first printing has reduplicated penultimate line on p. 234. Published in New York in 1939 four years after Bill Wilson and Robert Holbrook Smith founded AA in 1935, it is known as the celebrated “Big Book.” The work sets out the program’s Twelve Steps and preserves early members’ testimonies, marking a turning point in modern approaches to addiction and recovery. It remains one of the most influential American publications of the twentieth century.

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