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Alcoholics Anonymous First Edition 8th Printing from 1945 - RDJ Recovery Collectibles

Alcoholics Anonymous First Edition 8th Printing from 1945 - RDJ

$1,050 - $1,050
$1,050
$1,050 - $1,050
$1,050

 

This is a First Edition Eighth Printing of the Big Book with a reproduction dust jacket. This is a “wartime printing” which is the smallest version of the first edition big books.

During World War II, The United States Government placed regulations on book printings. These regulations were put in place to conserve paper by limiting the size and weight of books. In January 1945, Alcoholics Anonymous started printing the 7th Printing of the First Edition. It was intended for this printing to be smaller in size to conform to the government mandate but for some reason, this was never done. It is unknown why exactly the changes were not made for the 7th Printing. We do know that a very limited number of 7th Printings were released, some AA historians have estimated that there were approximately 300-500 printed. The previous six printings of the First Edition each had around 5,000 copies printed.

The 7th Printing even included the “Important Notice” about the size being decreased due to the Government regulations. We’re guessing that the reason the 7th Printing had a small run that the printer had not yet manually made the changes to the printing press to accommodate the smaller book. Once the printing press was changed they discontinued any more printings of the 7th and immediately began producing the smallest big book ever printed!

The 8th printing is from February 1945 with 20,000 copies released. The Wartime announcement is included on the second page of the book and in the corrected size to meet the government regulations. The 8th Printing is the smallest of all of the 16 printings of the First Edition Big Books!

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This book is in fair condition. The book has experienced wear to the cover and spine. The spine is loose and splitting with webbing exposed near the front cover. The gilt lettering on the spine is slightly faded. There is a name handwritten on the first page. There is no other writing or markings inside the book.

Please view all photos for conditions.