History & item details
Published for A.A.’s 50th Anniversary International Convention in Montreal, Fifty Years with Gratitude looks back over the people, places, literature, and service that helped a small fellowship reach around the world. Its bright blue binding and gold anniversary emblem make it an immediately recognizable keepsake of the July 4–7, 1985 gathering.
A milestone worth remembering
The Montreal convention marked half a century since A.A.’s beginnings in 1935. This illustrated souvenir offers more than a record of a single weekend: its contents trace the fellowship’s beginnings, the Big Book and other literature, the Grapevine, service, and international growth, alongside earlier International Conventions.
Demand for the album was strong enough that A.A.’s own Box 4-5-9 newsletter reported that the convention supply had been depleted by Friday and that the General Service Board had agreed to print 5,000 additional copies. This copy is explicitly marked “Second Printing September 1985,” placing it in the book’s original anniversary year. The newsletter documents the additional printing authorization; it does not identify the individual copy offered here.
For someone who attended Montreal, the album offers a way back to a memorable anniversary. For a newer member or collector, it provides a visual introduction to the fellowship’s first fifty years.
Edition details
- Publisher: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., New York
- Printing: Second Printing, September 1985
- Occasion: International A.A. Convention, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 4–7, 1985
- Binding: Blue hardcover with gold lettering and anniversary emblem; no dust jacket included
- ISBN: 0-916856-14-3
- Manufacture: Printed and bound in the USA
Condition
The blue covers show rubbing, surface marks, and light wear at the corners and spine ends. A small white, abraded-looking patch is visible in the ownership area of the front endpaper. The photographed text pages are bright and readable, with no conspicuous writing or underlining visible in those pages. Please examine all photographs for the condition of this copy.
Historical reference: Box 4-5-9, October–November 1985, “Souvenir Book Reprinted.”
