{"product_id":"alcoholic-foundation-1950-early-aa-pamphlet","title":"The Alcoholic Foundation — circa 1950 | Early A.A. Service Pamphlet","description":"\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eAn exceptionally interesting piece of early Alcoholics Anonymous service history, this original pamphlet was issued by \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Alcoholic Foundation\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e, the organization that preceded today’s General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eProduced around \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e1950\u003c\/span\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe opening asks several fundamental questions:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eWho is the General Service Board for the A.A. movement, the repository of A.A. national funds, and the custodian of A.A. tradition?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eInside, the pamphlet provides a remarkably detailed snapshot of Alcoholics Anonymous at a pivotal moment in its development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eA.A. in 1949\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe pamphlet reports on the activities of the General Service Office during \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e1949\u003c\/span\u003e, providing fascinating contemporary statistics on the rapidly expanding Fellowship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003eAt the time, the New York General Office consisted of just \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e18 people — six alcoholics and twelve non-alcoholics\u003c\/span\u003e. During 1949, the office:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eReceived \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e22,160 letters\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eSent \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e30,761 letters\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDistributed more than \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e36,000 bulletins\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e to A.A. Groups\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eShipped \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e915,000 pamphlets\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eShipped \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e29,647 copies of Alcoholics Anonymous\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eReceived more than \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e1,500 visitors\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eRegistered \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e832 new Groups in the United States and Canada\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eRegistered \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e67 new Groups in foreign countries\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThese figures provide an extraordinary firsthand record of how quickly Alcoholics Anonymous was spreading only a decade after the publication of the Big Book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Alcoholic Foundation\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe pamphlet describes the Alcoholic Foundation as a nonprofit membership corporation organized in \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e1938\u003c\/span\u003e, growing from the small committee of friends who had assisted \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eBill W. and Dr. Bob\u003c\/span\u003e during A.A.’s earliest years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eIt 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eParticularly interesting is its description of the publishing structure then in place. The Foundation \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eowned Works Publishing, Inc.\u003c\/span\u003e, through which the book \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlcoholics Anonymous\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e 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 \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe A.A. Grapevine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow Early A.A. Was Financed\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eAnother historically important section discusses the financial structure of the Fellowship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eGroups were asked to voluntarily support the General Service Office, with the pamphlet emphasizing the fundamental A.A. principle that there were \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eno dues or fees\u003c\/span\u003e and that contributions were entirely voluntary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eIt also identifies sales of the Big Book as the Foundation’s second principal source of income and states that \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eDr. Bob and Bill W., as co-founders of A.A., received a 10% royalty on the book\u003c\/span\u003e, which the pamphlet describes as having been their only income from A.A. sources for many years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn Extraordinary List of Early A.A. Trustees\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003ePerhaps one of the most historically significant features of this pamphlet is its contemporary roster of the \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eTrustees of the Alcoholic Foundation\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eAmong the non-alcoholic trustees listed are:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eDr. William D. Silkworth\u003c\/b\u003e — 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrank B. Amos\u003c\/b\u003e — an early supporter of the Fellowship whose 1938 report to John D. Rockefeller Jr. played an important role during A.A.’s formative period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eLeonard V. Harrison\u003c\/b\u003e — an early supporter and longtime participant in the Alcoholic Foundation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAustin MacCormick\u003c\/b\u003e — former Commissioner of Correction for New York City.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p5\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eFulton Oursler\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e — noted author and senior editor of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eReader’s Digest\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe A.A. trustees are identified according to the Fellowship’s anonymity convention of the period and include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p5\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eJonas A., Dick S., Tom K., Bill W., Dr. Bob S., Tom Y., and Tom B., Vice-President.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eSeeing \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eBill W. and Dr. Bob listed together as active trustees\u003c\/span\u003e makes this a particularly compelling document from the founders’ lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Snapshot of Alcoholics Anonymous in Transition\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eAs such, this pamphlet documents the organizational structure that existed immediately before that transition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eIt is an outstanding piece of early A.A. ephemera and an unusually informative artifact for collectors interested in \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eBill W., Dr. Bob, Dr. William Silkworth, Works Publishing, the Alcoholic Foundation, the General Service Office, and the development of Alcoholics Anonymous service history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe pamphlet remains in \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003every good condition for its age\u003c\/span\u003e, with light toning and minor signs of handling. Some discoloration\/staining is visible around the central portion of the organizational chart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003ePlease review all photographs carefully for the condition and contents of this original historic pamphlet.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Recovery Collectibles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49982237704434,"sku":null,"price":950.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0328\/4625\/0120\/files\/570553AE-8D55-4A1F-804C-3CE223B8F97F.jpg?v=1787680984","url":"https:\/\/recoverycollectibles.com\/products\/alcoholic-foundation-1950-early-aa-pamphlet","provider":"Recovery Collectibles","version":"1.0","type":"link"}