Is My Alcoholics Anonymous (the 'Big Book') a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing, April 1939, Works Publishing Company, New York (some sources give the imprint as Works Publishing, Inc.), printed by Cornwall Press
• Every first printing is bound in red cloth with gilt stamping to the front board and spine; the second printing
• appears mostly in two shades of blue cloth with a small number in leftover red, and on the blue copies the gilt 'Alcoholics Anonymous' is dropped from the front board and retained only on the spine
• The sheets are printed on the thickest, cheapest bulking stock the printer had, with wide margins, which is why the volume is unusually thick and how it earned the 'Big Book' nickname; later printings use thinner paper and a visibly slimmer text block
• Two textual points are diagnostic
• First, the personal story 'Lone Endeavor' by Pat C. of Los Angeles (ghost-written by Ruth Hock) stands at p

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US only. Works Publishing Company, New York, April 1939 is the true first; there is no competing UK or original-language edition and the text was written in English. Imprint trap: the book is now published by A.A. World Services, and any copy bearing that imprint is a later edition regardless of a 1939 copyright line.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented. The dominant trap is the first edition's own later printings — sixteen printings ran from 1939 until the second edition of 1955 — which dealers routinely list as 'first edition' and which must be separated by printing state (red versus blue cloth, presence or absence of 'Lone Endeavor', the p. 234 error, paper bulk, front-board stamping). Beyond that, modern facsimiles and reset reprints of the 1939 text (Dover's 'The Original 1939 Edition' and similar) are new books, not 1939 sheets.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Alcoholics Anonymous (the 'Big Book') a first edition?

A first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (the 'Big Book') by [Bill Wilson et al.] (Works Publishing Company) is identified by: First printing, April 1939, Works Publishing Company, New York (some sources give the imprint as Works Publishing, Inc.), printed by Cornwall Press.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US only.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition is documented. The dominant trap is the first edition's own later printings — sixteen printings ran from 1939 until the second edition of 1955 — which dealers routinely list as 'first edition' and which must be separated by printing state (red versus blue cloth, presence or absence of 'Lone Endeavor', the p. 234 error, paper bulk, front-board stamping). Beyond that, modern facsimiles and reset reprints of the 1939 text (Dover's 'The Original 1939 Edition' and similar) are ne

I have a first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (the 'Big Book') — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.