A New Pair of Glasses — Chuck C. — First Edition, First Printing 1984 — Signed & Inscribed — Original Dust Jacket
A New Pair of Glasses by Chuck C. is one of the best-known and most enduring books to emerge from the broader Alcoholics Anonymous recovery community.
Published in 1984 by New-Look Publishing Company, the book is an edited transcription of a series of talks given by Chuck C. at the Pala Mesa retreat in 1975. Although A New Pair of Glasses is not official A.A. Conference-approved literature, it has circulated widely within Alcoholics Anonymous for decades and has become a familiar title to generations of people in recovery.
This is a First Edition, First Printing from 1984, complete with its original dust jacket and personally inscribed by Chuck C. in the year of publication.
Signed & Inscribed by Chuck C.
On the blank page opposite the title page, Chuck personally inscribed this copy:
To Barbara with love from Chuck C. July 26, 1984
The inscription is especially significant because Chuck C. died later in 1984, the same year A New Pair of Glasses was published.
The handwriting itself has a noticeably unsteady quality, consistent with Chuck’s declining health late in his life. Rather than simply being an autographed copy, this is a warmly presented and dated association copy inscribed only months before his death.
About
A New Pair of Glasses
The material that became A New Pair of Glasses originated with a series of talks Chuck delivered to a group of alcoholic men at the Pala Mesa retreat in Southern California in 1975.
Throughout the book, Chuck uses humor, personal experience, and direct observation to explore sobriety as something much larger than simply not drinking. His talks examine honesty, acceptance, ego, resentment, spiritual growth, relationships, and the gradual transformation in perspective that can occur through practicing the principles of recovery.
The title itself captures that idea beautifully: recovery can provide “a new pair of glasses” through which a person begins to see themselves, other people, and life differently.
Chuck’s conversational style is a major part of the book’s appeal. The text retains the character of a man speaking directly to other alcoholics rather than presenting a formal philosophical or instructional work.
As the original dust jacket explains, the book presents practical principles through the experience of a man who underwent an extraordinary personal transformation—from the depths of alcoholism to becoming a deeply respected and charismatic voice in the recovery community.
That combination of humor, experience, spirituality, and practical recovery philosophy has helped A New Pair of Glasses remain in circulation long after Chuck’s death.
First Edition — 1984
The copyright page identifies:
Copyright © 1984, by Chuck C.
New-Look Publishing Company
Irvine, California
This copy is from the First Edition, First Printing of 1984.
It also retains the striking original blue dust jacket, with its red-and-white glasses design, as well as the orange hardcover binding with the glasses emblem stamped in gold.
Finding an early copy with its original jacket is desirable in its own right; finding one personally inscribed by Chuck C. during the year of publication makes this an especially appealing example.
Condition
The book itself is in excellent condition with very little wear. The orange hardcover binding remains exceptionally attractive, with the gold-stamped glasses design on the front board and gold spine lettering presenting very well.
The interior is clean. Other than Chuck C.’s signed presentation inscription and a previous owner’s name written at the top of the front endpaper, there is no additional writing or marking noted inside the book.
The original dust jacket remains complete and presents very well overall, with expected edge wear, rubbing, and several small tears and areas of wear along the extremities.
Please examine all photographs carefully for the exact condition of the book, original dust jacket, binding, inscription, and interior.
A Special Copy of a Recovery Classic
A New Pair of Glasses occupies an unusual place in recovery literature. It was never official Alcoholics Anonymous literature, yet it became a book passed from one recovering alcoholic to another and has remained familiar within A.A. circles for more than four decades.
This particular copy brings together nearly everything a collector could want in an example:
First Edition. First Printing. Original dust jacket. Personally inscribed by Chuck C. Dated July 26, 1984—the final year of his life.
It is a wonderful association copy of one of the most recognizable unofficial classics of Alcoholics Anonymous recovery literature.
