Alcoholics Anonymous First Edition (5th Printing, 1944) – The Hank Grieme GSO Copy – Signed Throughout by Founders, Trustees & Early AA Pioneers

Alcoholics Anonymous First Edition (5th Printing, 1944) – The Hank Grieme GSO Copy – Signed Throughout by Founders, Trustees & Early AA Pioneers

Introduction

Offered here is an extraordinary artifact from the formative decades of Alcoholics Anonymous: a First Edition, Fifth Printing (1944) of Alcoholics Anonymous, custom-bound for Henry “Hank” F. Grieme, longtime General Service Office manager, and signed throughout by founders, trustees, early pioneers, literary collaborators, and close associates of the Fellowship.

More than simply a signed First Edition, this volume functioned as a living document of Alcoholics Anonymous coming-of-age. During his years at the General Service Office in New York, Hank Grieme invited visitors, AA members, delegates, trustees, Conference participants, and friends of the Fellowship to inscribe this book. Evidence within the pages — including inscriptions tied to the landmark 1955 St. Louis International Convention — strongly suggests that Grieme also carried it with him to major gatherings, allowing significant figures in AA’s mid-century development to add their names.

The result is a singular convergence of Alcoholics Anonymous history within one volume. The book contains inscriptions from both co-founders, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, alongside Class A trustee and Board Chairman Leonard V. Harrison (1941–1965), early literary voices such as Charles Clapp, Jr., Bill W.’s close editorial collaborator Tom Powers, and numerous early New York–area figures, including Yev Gardner, Anne Macfarlane, Hazel Rice, DeVoe Bingham, and others who helped build and professionalize AA’s General Service structure in the 1940s and 1950s. Signatures appear throughout the text, transforming the volume into an informal registry of AA’s foundational generation.

This book bridges recovery, service, and unity. It connects the Akron origins of 1935 to the structural maturation of 1955, when stewardship of the Fellowship formally transitioned to the General Service Conference. It carries the personal gratitude of Bill Wilson to Hank Grieme, the blessings of Dr. Bob Smith, and the recorded presence of trustees, convention leaders, and early pioneers who shaped Alcoholics Anonymous in its first two decades.

Custom-bound for Hank Grieme and preserved as his working service copy, this First Edition stands not merely as a collectible book, but as a tangible witness to AA’s development — a traveling companion of the General Service Office and a curated gathering of the Fellowship’s early voices.

Henry “Hank” F. Grieme

Architect of the Early General Service Office

Henry “Hank” F. Grieme was not merely a mid-century AA servant — he was one of the key figures responsible for shaping the modern General Service Office during its formative years. A pivotal leader in Alcoholics Anonymous whose recovery and service career paralleled the Fellowship’s transformation from a small movement into an organized international society.

After years of escalating alcoholism marked by professional collapse, financial ruin, and suicidal despair in New York, Grieme entered AA in the early 1940s in Chappaqqua, New York. Introduced to the Big Book by a sober neighbor, he embraced the Twelve Steps and rebuilt his life, restoring his family relationships and grounding himself in the spiritual and practical disciplines of recovery.

By 1949, he was serving as Chairman of the General Service Committee, overseeing the A.A. office during a period of accelerating growth. At that time, the Alcoholic Foundation appointed a committee to act as an advisory body to Headquarters staff for matters of policy and administration requiring immediate attention. The chairman of this committee functioned as the de facto volunteer manager of the office — a role filled by Hank G. for a number of years.

Under his leadership, the office began to assume a more coherent administrative structure. In 1950, the Headquarters moved to a larger space at 141 East 44th Street, near Grand Central Station, reflecting the rapid expansion of the Fellowship. During this period, the term “Headquarters” was formally replaced with the more descriptive title that remains today — the General Service Office (G.S.O.).

Operational refinements were instituted, including staff rotation policies and the establishment of a minimum sobriety requirement for alcoholic employees following several relapses among staff. Bookkeeping functions were strengthened with the hiring of Dennis Manders, who would later serve as chief financial officer for decades. Nell Wing, initially hired as temporary clerical help, would remain to become Bill W.’s longtime secretary and ultimately the first Archivist of the G.S.O. These developments unfolded during the period in which Hank was guiding office administration.

In 1951, Hank resigned as volunteer manager due to the strain the workload placed on his business life. However, in 1953 he was hired back as General Manager, compensated for one-third of his time — becoming the first paid A.A. manager in the Fellowship’s history. This marked a significant step in the professional stabilization of AA’s service structure.

The scale of responsibility during his tenure was considerable. Annual incoming mail exceeded 31,000 pieces, and more than one million copies of A.A. books and pamphlets were distributed during this era. Correspondence with isolated members helped shape what would later become the Loners/Internationalists programs. The office also began regular communication with Conference delegates regarding anonymity matters, reinforcing the emerging structure of the General Service Conference.

Grieme also played a direct role in planning and structuring the landmark 1955 International Convention in St. Louis, widely regarded as AA’s “coming of age” moment, when stewardship was formally entrusted to the General Service Conference. He later supervised preparations for the 1960 International Convention in Long Beach, California. A Daily Bulletin issued during that Convention noted "Hank was hospitalized by an appendectomy en route here" and publicly acknowledged him as “known to many members for his work in General Services,” announcing that an acting Convention Chairman would assume his duties — documentary confirmation of his leadership status.

In both administrative and spiritual capacities, Hank represented the bridge generation between the Fellowship’s founders and its institutional maturity. His personal First Edition Fifth Printing of Alcoholics Anonymous, signed throughout by founders, trustees, staff, and early pioneers, is therefore not incidental — it is a working artifact of the very office he helped shape.

His close association with AA’s early leadership is further evidenced by his personal connection with both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith; Dr. Bob inscribed Grieme’s copy of the Alcoholics Anonymous First Edition only months before his death in 1950 — a testament to Grieme’s standing within the Fellowship.

In his conference addresses, including a 1960 Oklahoma State Conference talk delivered while representing the General Service Office, Grieme emphasized humility, moral inventory, spiritual growth, and active service to the alcoholic who still suffers. He consistently framed sobriety not as a private achievement but as a responsibility to carry the message and safeguard the Fellowship’s principles. As both a recovered alcoholic of the 1940s generation and a trusted architect of AA’s General Service era, Hank Grieme occupies a meaningful place in the history of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Context of the Signatures

During his years of service at Alcoholics Anonymous’ General Service Office in New York, Hank Grieme kept this First Edition volume as a living record of the Fellowship’s leadership and visitors. It was his practice to invite friends, delegates, trustees, founders, visiting members, and Conference attendees to sign the book when they came through the GSO. Evidence within the volume — including inscriptions tied to the 1955 St. Louis International Convention — further suggests that Hank also carried the book with him during his travels, allowing significant figures in AA’s development to add their names.

As such, the signatures are not random accumulations but represent a curated and organic cross-section of AA’s founders, Class A trustees, General Service leadership, literary collaborators, and close associates from the 1940s through the 1960s. The book functioned as both a personal recovery touchstone and an informal registry of AA’s formative generation.

Front Free Endpaper – Foundational Signatures (Ebby and Bill)

The front free endpaper bears an early and deliberate cluster of signatures beginning with H.F. Grieme, dated April 10, 1945, firmly placing the volume in his possession shortly after its publication in January 1944. Beneath his bold ownership signature appears a clean vertical register dated 2-12-46, Ida V. Philyss, Wally Shark, Ebby Thacher, Bill Wilson, Brad Ricketts, and Bur Smith, reflecting a concentrated circle of early New York–area AA members and service associates together on February 12, 1946.

The presence of both Bill Wilson and Ebby Thacher on the same page is particularly significant, uniting AA’s co-founder and the man whose 1934 visit to Wilson catalyzed the Fellowship’s creation. As an early, curated assembly of foundational and service-connected figures, this page represents a historically meaningful convergence of AA’s formative generation within a 1945 Fifth Printing of the First Edition.

Bill Wilson Inscription – Dated July 14, 1955 (New York)

The first title page bears a warm and personal inscription from Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, dated July 14, 1955, New York:

“For Hank – In truist affection and gratitude for all that has happened to him – and so to many – since he first saw this book. Evermore, Bill.”

The wording is deeply significant. Wilson’s phrase “since he first saw this book” directly acknowledges Hank Grieme’s long sobriety and service career dating back to the early 1940s, and reflects personal familiarity rather than a casual autograph. The date is equally meaningful — July 1955 coincides with the period of AA’s 20th Anniversary International Convention in St. Louis, when leadership of the Fellowship was formally transitioned to the General Service Conference, marking a historic structural milestone in AA’s development.

Unlike standard signatures, this inscription conveys personal gratitude from Bill Wilson to Hank, recognizing his recovery and contributions to the Fellowship. As a founder inscription written to a General Service Office manager within his own First Edition copy, it represents a historically intimate and highly desirable association piece.

Dr. Bob Smith Inscription – Co-Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous

The title page bears a bold and clear inscription from Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith (“Dr. Bob”), co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous:

“With best wishes for continued success in A.A. Dr. Bob Smith”

Dr. Bob’s signature appears in this First Edition Fifth Printing (1944), making this an authentic co-founder inscription within the original foundational text of the Fellowship. As the Akron physician whose partnership with Bill Wilson in 1935 marked the formal beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous, Dr. Bob’s signed inscriptions are considerably scarcer than Bill Wilson’s, particularly in presentation copies associated with long-serving General Service figures.

When considered alongside Bill Wilson’s 1955 personal inscription to Hank, this volume uniquely contains inscriptions from both co-founders, reinforcing its exceptional historical significance within AA’s early generation.

Leonard V. Harrison (nonalcoholic Class A Trustee, 1941–April 1965)

Inscribed on page 155, "Leonard V. Harrison at the St. Louis Convention, 1955." Chairman of the AA Board of Trustees (1956–1961) and a key figure in the Fellowship’s service structure during its formative decades. His inscription referencing the 1955 St. Louis International Convention directly links this volume to AA’s trustee-level leadership at the historic “coming of age” moment when responsibility for the Fellowship was formally transferred to the General Service Conference. Harrison was also present at the 1960 Long Beach International Convention, underscoring his sustained role in guiding AA’s world service structure during a pivotal era of institutional growth.

Charles Clapp, Jr. – February 5, 1946

Signed on page 164, “Charly Clapp – 5 Feb 1946,” this inscription represents one of the Fellowship’s early literary voices. Charles Clapp, Jr. (1899–1957) was an early AA member with roots in the Oxford Group who achieved sobriety in the late 1930s through contact with Bill W. and the emerging New York fellowship.

Clapp became widely known for his works on alcoholism and recovery, including The Big Bender, Drunks Are Square Pegs, and Drinking’s Not the Problem, which helped articulate AA’s spiritual framework for a broader audience. His 1946 signature in a First Edition volume situates this book squarely within the Fellowship’s formative literary and philosophical development, connecting it to one of the early writers who helped shape AA’s public understanding beyond the Big Book itself.

Tom Powers – January 29, 1946

Inscribed on page 171, “Tom Powers – Jan 29, ’46,” this signature represents one of Bill Wilson’s close literary collaborators during Bill's most productive writing years. Powers was an early and respected member of the Fellowship who assisted Bill W. in editing and refining several major works, including Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (1953) and AA Comes of Age (1957).

Known for his thoughtful articulation of AA principles and his skill as a writer, Powers played an important behind-the-scenes role in shaping how the program’s spiritual and service concepts were presented to the broader Fellowship. His early 1946 signature in this First Edition volume reflects the intellectual and literary circle surrounding Bill W. during the expansion of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Frederic V. Guinzburg 1947

Found at the top of page 256, "Frederic V. Guinzburg – July 15 ‘47." Guinzburg was a sculptor from Chappaqua, NY and a friend of Bill Wilson, known within Alcoholics Anonymous circles for his artistic contributions and personal connection to AA’s early leadership. While not a central figure in AA service work, his creation of a bronze head sculpture of Bill Wilson before his death reflects the close personal relationships and cultural legacy surrounding AA’s founders. Guinzburg’s work stands as a tribute to Wilson and the Fellowship’s influence on those in his circle.

DeVoe B. Bingham

Signed on page 361, "Devoe B. Bingham – 9/21/53." DeVoe was an early Alcoholics Anonymous member who lived near Stepping Stones in Katonah, New York, and became a close friend of Bill and Lois Wilson during the 1940s. Through this proximity and friendship, he and his wife were part of the extended circle that surrounded the Wilsons in AA’s formative General Service years. His wife, Anne Bingham, went on to co-found Al-Anon Family Groups with Lois Wilson in 1951, making the Binghams closely connected to the parallel development of both AA and Al-Anon.

Additional Significant Inscriptions

Nearly every page of the book bears signatures, reflecting the breadth of Hank Grieme’s service network and the wide geographic reach of mid-century Alcoholics Anonymous. Among the many inscriptions are:

• Page 62: “Yev Gardner – 5/31/49” (New York)

• Page 75: “Tom Birrell – 11-27-45” (New York)

• Page 70: “Cliff Walker” (AA pioneer in California)

• Page 110: “Icky Sheridan – Dallas, Texas – 12/30/45” (From Texas and friend of Bill Wilson)

• Page 140: “A.A. ‘Dick’ Breen – 10-3-49” (AA Pioneer sponsored by Bill W.)

• Page 206: “Anne Macfarlane – August 8, 1950” (GSO Staff)

• Page 364: “Dick Stanley – 11/23/47” (First Edition story author from Ohio)

• Appendix: “Hazel Rice – 7/1/52” (GSO Staff)

Several of these names represent important early service figures. Anne Macfarlane was deeply involved in early AA service work, including The Grapevine and the developing General Service structure of the 1950s. Dick Stanley signed on the first page of the First Edition Big Book story he authored, “The Car Smasher.” Hazel Rice was an early New York service worker associated with the General Service Office during its formative years, one of the pioneering women who helped stabilize AA’s expanding national operations.

Together, these inscriptions — spanning multiple states, service roles, and years from 1945 through the early 1950s — demonstrate the remarkable range of individuals who passed through Hank Grieme’s circle and left their mark within this single volume.

Book Details

Title: Alcoholics Anonymous

Author: AA (Bill W., principal author)

Publisher: Works Publishing Company, New York

Year of Publication: 1944

Edition: First Edition

Printing: Fifth Printing

Binding: Custom dark blue cloth binding prepared for Henry F. Grieme, with gilt spine titling and “HENRY F. GRIEME” stamped in gilt on the front cover (original publisher’s baby blue cloth replaced).

Format: Octavo

Pagination: 400 pages (including appendices, as issued in the Fifth Printing format)

Provenance: Personal copy of Henry “Hank” F. Grieme, longtime General Service Office manager; signed and inscribed throughout by founders, trustees, and early Alcoholics Anonymous figures between 1945 and the early 1950s.

Condition

First Edition, Fifth Printing (1944), custom-bound for Henry F. Grieme, replacing the original publisher’s baby blue cloth binding issued with Fifth Printings. The present dark blue cloth binding features gilt spine titling of Alcoholics Anonymous and “HENRY F. GRIEME” stamped in gilt on the front cover, clearly prepared as a personalized service copy.

The binding shows moderate wear consistent with decades of active use, including rubbing at corners and spine ends, surface scuffing to the cloth, and edge wear. The structure remains sound, with the text block firmly held and no detached pages visible.

Interior pages exhibit typical age toning. Numerous period inscriptions appear throughout the volume, reflecting its documented use at the General Service Office and at major AA gatherings. There is no evidence of significant tears or structural compromise in the provided images.

Overall, this is a solid, well-preserved custom-bound First Edition Fifth Printing that shows honest wear consistent with its role as a working and traveling artifact within AA’s mid-century service leadership.

Listen to Hank G:

Click here to enjoy a great recording found on RecoverySpeakers.com of Hank G. speaking in Oklahoma City in 1960. He closes his talk with: 

"If I can leave just one little thought, it would be this in closing: let us all, when we leave here, decide to let God have the power and the glory. This movement is based upon principles and not upon personalities. There is only one surviving personality in this fellowship, and that is Bill, in my opinion. There were Bill and Dr. Bob, and it was Dr. Bob who, some six months before he passed, wrote in my AA book, "To your continued success in AA," and may I pass on this thought of Bob's to you: to your continued success in AA, let God have the power and the glory, and let us all just continue the search for His kingdom. Thank you."