The Book That Started It All — Original Working Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous — Limited Edition of 1,000 — Sealed
Offered here is the numbered limited edition of The Book That Started It All: The Original Working Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, issued in an elegant leather-bound format and limited to just 1,000 numbered copies.
Most importantly, this copy remains unopened in its original plastic wrap and retains its original white cardstock protective sleeve. Because the book has never been unsealed, its individual limitation number is unknown.
This special edition reproduces one of the most important documents in the publishing history of Alcoholics Anonymous: the surviving working manuscript used during the development of the book Alcoholics Anonymous, later universally known as the Big Book.
The Working Manuscript of the Big Book
During the preparation of the original Big Book in the late 1930s, Bill Wilson and the early members of Alcoholics Anonymous sought input from physicians, clergy, alcoholics, non-alcoholics, and others who might offer useful criticism of the developing text.
Approximately 400 mimeographed copies of the developing manuscript were circulated for review. Suggestions and revisions were gathered and considered, with changes ultimately incorporated into the working copy from which the book continued toward publication.
The Book That Started It All reproduces that historic manuscript, preserving the handwritten editorial markings, proposed changes, deletions, additions, and comments that document the evolution of the text before the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous appeared in 1939.
The manuscript provides an unusual opportunity to study the development of the language and ideas that ultimately became the foundation of A.A.’s principal text.
Editorial markings appearing throughout the manuscript in different colors illustrate the collaborative process behind the Big Book and reveal changes considered during its formative stages.
The volume also includes historical introduction and commentary providing context for the manuscript and its place in A.A. publishing history.
Limited Edition
This is the deluxe numbered limited edition, restricted to only:
1,000 copies
The book is bound in black leather with gold stamping and decorative gold borders to the front cover.
Because this particular copy remains completely unopened in its original shrink wrap, the limitation number cannot be determined without breaking the original seal. It is being offered exactly as preserved.
For the collector, the unopened state is arguably more desirable than identifying the individual number.
Book Details
Title: The Book That Started It All: The Original Working Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous
Subject: Original Working Manuscript of the Big Book
Edition: Numbered Limited Edition
Limitation: One of 1,000 copies
Binding: Deluxe black leather binding with gold decoration and lettering
Format: Oversized hardcover
Condition: Unopened / Factory Sealed
Protective Sleeve: Original white cardstock sleeve present
Limitation Number: Unknown — book remains sealed
Please Note: This copy remains unopened in its original shrink wrap. Interior photographs shown in this listing are from another copy of the same limited edition and are included for reference only. The limitation number of the copy offered here is unknown because the original seal has not been broken.
Condition
An exceptional unopened example.
The book itself remains sealed in its original plastic wrap and has never been opened. The black leather binding and gold cover decoration visible beneath the wrap appear exceptionally well preserved.
The original white cardstock protective sleeve is also present. The sleeve shows light storage and handling wear, including minor edge and corner wear and a few small surface marks, as shown in the photographs.
The shrink wrap remains intact.
Because the book has never been opened, the interior condition and individual limitation number have not been inspected.
Please review all photographs carefully for the most complete representation of condition.
Collector Significance
For collectors of early Alcoholics Anonymous publishing history, The Book That Started It All occupies an unusual position. It allows the reader to examine the Big Book not simply as a finished publication, but as a document still being debated, edited, and refined immediately before its first appearance in 1939.
The limited leather edition of only 1,000 numbered copies is considerably more collectible than the standard issue, and an example that has remained completely unopened in its original wrap with its original protective sleeve is especially appealing.
A beautifully preserved collector’s edition documenting the creation of the book that became the central text of Alcoholics Anonymous.
