Alcoholics Anonymous — Second Australian Printing (1986) — Original Dust Jacket
Offered here is a Second Australian Printing of Alcoholics Anonymous, issued in 1986, with its original Australian dust jacket. The blue cloth binding and jacket’s prominent “Australian Print First Edition” banner give this copy a distinctive identity within the international publishing history of the Big Book.
The Big Book Printed for Australia
The first and second Australian printings are both recorded in 1986 on the copyright leaf. Printed locally with permission of A.A. World Services, this issue reflects the Australian Fellowship producing the book that carried its shared recovery message. The original jacket presents the Australian printing as a step toward local self-sufficiency, making the jacket itself part of the publication’s story.
The text is the Third Edition, New and Revised, first introduced in 1976. The Australian first-edition wording identifies the local issue, while the printing statement identifies this particular volume as the second Australian printing. Together, these details place the book precisely within its Australian and international publishing contexts.
For an A.A. member or collector interested in how the message reached readers around the world, regional printings offer an engaging extension of a Big Book collection. The familiar text remains at the center, while the imprint, binding and jacket record how a local Fellowship made it its own.
This Copy and Its Australian Association
“Maroondah A.A. Group” is written on the front free endpaper, giving this copy a personal connection to an Australian group. The blue cloth and original jacket make a recognizable companion to American editions and other overseas printings. The Australian banner remains a prominent feature of the jacket’s design.
Publication Details
- Title: Alcoholics Anonymous
- Text edition: Third Edition, New and Revised
- Australian printing: Second Australian Printing, 1986, as stated
- Publication authority: Reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
- Manufacture: Printed in Australia
- ISBN: 0-916856-00-3
- Binding and jacket: Blue cloth hardcover; original Australian jacket
Condition
Book: Rubbing and edge wear are visible on the boards, with toning and scattered marks on the endpapers. The front free endpaper bears the group inscription, and a transparent strip is visible along the front inner hinge. The photographed pages show light toning and print show-through.
Original dust jacket: There is extensive edge wear, creasing, tearing and chipping, with substantial holes and losses at the spine and blue material visible beneath the missing areas. Please review the photographs, including the full jacket spread at the end of the gallery, for this copy’s condition.
Explore the Big Book’s Earlier History
For background on the original edition and its development, explore our Collector’s Guide to First Edition Big Books and The First Edition Big Book: A Printing-by-Printing History (1939–1954).
