The Alcoholic Foundation — circa 1950 | Early A.A. Service Pamphlet
An exceptionally interesting piece of early Alcoholics Anonymous service history, this original pamphlet was issued by The Alcoholic Foundation, the organization that preceded today’s General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Produced around 1950, the pamphlet was created to explain to A.A. members exactly what the Alcoholic Foundation was, what responsibilities it held, how the General Service Office operated, and how A.A.’s national services were financially supported.
The opening asks several fundamental questions:
Who is the General Service Board for the A.A. movement, the repository of A.A. national funds, and the custodian of A.A. tradition?
Inside, the pamphlet provides a remarkably detailed snapshot of Alcoholics Anonymous at a pivotal moment in its development.
A.A. in 1949
The pamphlet reports on the activities of the General Service Office during 1949, providing fascinating contemporary statistics on the rapidly expanding Fellowship.
At the time, the New York General Office consisted of just 18 people — six alcoholics and twelve non-alcoholics. During 1949, the office:
- Received 22,160 letters
- Sent 30,761 letters
- Distributed more than 36,000 bulletins to A.A. Groups
- Shipped 915,000 pamphlets
- Shipped 29,647 copies of Alcoholics Anonymous
- Received more than 1,500 visitors
- Registered 832 new Groups in the United States and Canada
- Registered 67 new Groups in foreign countries
These figures provide an extraordinary firsthand record of how quickly Alcoholics Anonymous was spreading only a decade after the publication of the Big Book.
The Alcoholic Foundation
The pamphlet describes the Alcoholic Foundation as a nonprofit membership corporation organized in 1938, growing from the small committee of friends who had assisted Bill W. and Dr. Bob during A.A.’s earliest years.
It explains the Foundation’s responsibility for safeguarding A.A. tradition, overseeing national and international public relations, maintaining the General Service Office, and supervising the publication and distribution of A.A. literature.
Particularly interesting is its description of the publishing structure then in place. The Foundation owned Works Publishing, Inc., through which the book Alcoholics Anonymous was published. A diagram on the pamphlet illustrates the relationship between the A.A. Groups, the Alcoholic Foundation, Works Publishing and the Big Book, the General Service Office, and The A.A. Grapevine.
How Early A.A. Was Financed
Another historically important section discusses the financial structure of the Fellowship.
Groups were asked to voluntarily support the General Service Office, with the pamphlet emphasizing the fundamental A.A. principle that there were no dues or fees and that contributions were entirely voluntary.
It also identifies sales of the Big Book as the Foundation’s second principal source of income and states that Dr. Bob and Bill W., as co-founders of A.A., received a 10% royalty on the book, which the pamphlet describes as having been their only income from A.A. sources for many years.
An Extraordinary List of Early A.A. Trustees
Perhaps one of the most historically significant features of this pamphlet is its contemporary roster of the Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation.
Among the non-alcoholic trustees listed are:
Dr. William D. Silkworth — the physician whose medical opinion appeared in the Big Book and whose understanding of alcoholism had an enormous influence on Bill W. and the development of A.A.
Frank B. Amos — an early supporter of the Fellowship whose 1938 report to John D. Rockefeller Jr. played an important role during A.A.’s formative period.
Leonard V. Harrison — an early supporter and longtime participant in the Alcoholic Foundation.
Austin MacCormick — former Commissioner of Correction for New York City.
Fulton Oursler — noted author and senior editor of Reader’s Digest.
The A.A. trustees are identified according to the Fellowship’s anonymity convention of the period and include:
Jonas A., Dick S., Tom K., Bill W., Dr. Bob S., Tom Y., and Tom B., Vice-President.
Seeing Bill W. and Dr. Bob listed together as active trustees makes this a particularly compelling document from the founders’ lifetime.
A Snapshot of Alcoholics Anonymous in Transition
The pamphlet dates from the period immediately preceding the first General Service Conference in 1951, as Bill W., Dr. Bob and the Alcoholic Foundation were developing a permanent service structure through which responsibility for A.A.’s General Services could eventually pass to the Fellowship.
As such, this pamphlet documents the organizational structure that existed immediately before that transition.
It is an outstanding piece of early A.A. ephemera and an unusually informative artifact for collectors interested in Bill W., Dr. Bob, Dr. William Silkworth, Works Publishing, the Alcoholic Foundation, the General Service Office, and the development of Alcoholics Anonymous service history.
Condition
The pamphlet remains in very good condition for its age, with light toning and minor signs of handling. Some discoloration/staining is visible around the central portion of the organizational chart.
Please review all photographs carefully for the condition and contents of this original historic pamphlet.
