When auction houses get involved in recovery history, there is always a moment where you hold your breath a little. Artifacts go to the highest bidder. And the highest bidder is not always the right one.
This time, it was.
The Stepping Stones Foundation won the auction on July 1, 2026. If you are not familiar with Stepping Stones, it is the National Historic Landmark home in Katonah, New York where Bill Wilson and his wife Lois Wilson, who cofounded Al-Anon Family Groups, lived from 1941 until their deaths. Bill died in 1971. Lois in 1988. The house, the archive, the eight acres of gardens and woodlands, all of it has been preserved by the Foundation ever since.
We covered this story when it broke: the original printer’s copy manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, estimated at one to two million dollars, going up for auction at Christie’s. Bill Wilson’s handwriting in the margins. 167 pages that became the foundation for a program that has kept millions of people alive.
They are already in the business of protecting exactly this kind of history. 110,000 original items left behind by the Wilsons. A writing studio called Wit’s End where Bill wrote after the Big Book, including Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Thousands of visitors every year who come not as tourists but as people making a homecoming.
The manuscript is not going into a private collection. It is not going behind glass in a place that has nothing to do with where it came from. It is going back to the house of the man who, according to the Foundation, “umpired the debates that erupted about the wording” in those annotated pages.
Executive Director Sally Corbett-Turco said it plainly: “Just as Lois Wilson hoped, the manuscript will be available for future generations of people in recovery to see and be inspired.”
Lois Wilson hoped for this. She is gone. But the thing she hoped for just happened anyway, eighty-seven years after that book was typeset at Cornwall Press and sent out into a world that had no idea what was coming.
There is something about a room full of people who care about recovery pooling resources to make sure this document stays exactly where it belongs. It does not happen that way every time. It happened that way this time.
If you want to support the Stepping Stones Foundation, including the preservation, protection, and display of the manuscript, you can do that at steppingstones.org.
Read our original coverage of the Christie’s auction here.
#QUITLIT: The Big Book Is Going to Auction. And It’s Going to Cost You.
CURATED CRAFTS: Bedazzling My Big Book: Because Recovery Deserves Rhinestones
Movie Review: When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (2010)
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Created in partnership with the Break Free Foundation, our Nonprofit Recovery Resource Guide is a curated directory of reputable, recovery-related organizations. These groups not only welcome donations and volunteers but also provide vital assistance to individuals seeking help for addiction, mental health challenges, and recovery support.
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What is the A.A. Big Book manuscript that sold at Christie’s?
It is the original printer’s copy of Alcoholics Anonymous, the 167-page manuscript used by the typesetter at Cornwall Press to produce the first edition of the book in 1939. It contains Bill Wilson’s handwritten notes and edits in the margins and is considered the foundational document of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Who won the Big Book manuscript at the Christie’s auction?
The Stepping Stones Foundation won the auction on July 1, 2026. Stepping Stones is the National Historic Landmark home in Katonah, New York where A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson and Al-Anon cofounder Lois Wilson lived from 1941 until their respective deaths in 1971 and 1988.
How much did the Big Book manuscript sell for at Christie’s?
The manuscript was estimated at one to two million dollars going into the auction. The Stepping Stones Foundation has not disclosed the final sale price, but confirmed the acquisition in a press release issued July 1, 2026.
Where will the Big Book manuscript be displayed?
The manuscript will be housed at Stepping Stones in Katonah, New York, where it will become the centerpiece of the Foundation’s collection. It will be available for visitors in recovery, scholars, and the public to see. Stepping Stones welcomes thousands of visitors each year.
Who is The Stepping Stones Foundation?
The Stepping Stones Foundation is a private nonprofit organization that preserves and operates the historic home and archive of Bill and Lois Wilson. The property includes the Wilson home, Bill’s writing studio called Wit’s End, eight acres of grounds, and more than 110,000 original artifacts and 130,000 archival items left by the Wilsons.
How can I support the Stepping Stones Foundation?
You can make a contribution toward the manuscript’s preservation, protection, and display at steppingstones.org.
