Cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, the treatment program which has helped millions of people recover from a disease long stigmatized and regarded as irreversible. Signed book: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. First edition. Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc., 1953. Hardcover with dustjacket, 5.75 x 8.25, 192 pages. Signed and inscribed in ballpoint on the front free end page, “To the Rathbuns: My cherished companions in devotion to Him who presides over all. Gratefully, Bill Wilson, NY Aug/25/53.” This “other” Big Book, Wilson’s appropriately anonymous follow-up to the historic Alcoholics Anonymous (1939), contains a detailed discussion of the program’s famous twelve steps, as well as the “twelve traditions” that were codified during the group’s formative years. Though Wilson’s signature is scarce in any form, the anonymity that is one of the central tenets of AA makes his full signature a particular rarity—and makes the present item, with Wilson’s overtly spiritual inscription, an exceptionally desirable example. The original recipient of the book, Harry Rathbun (1894–1987), was a prominent scholar who taught business law at Stanford; in 1950 he appeared in a Life magazine feature honoring the nation’s best teachers. In fine condition, with mild toning, address label affixed to inside front cover, and toning, scuffing, and light edge wear with a few chips to price-clipped jacket. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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