Part of the working draft
According to Alcoholics Anonymous World Services (A.A.W.S.), the ‘printer’s copy’ of the text for William Griffith Wilson’s original 12-step book “Alcoholics Anonymous” was gifted to them by Wilson’s friend, Barry Leach, back in 1979. So, you may be wondering why is it not in their possession? Well, according to the complaint filed in New York County Supreme Court, due to either extreme negligence or potentially wrongful actions by individuals outside of A.A.W.S. at or around the time of Mr. Leach’s death, A.A.W.S. did not come into possession of the manuscript,” the 11-page complaint states. “Mr. Leach’s estate had no title in the manuscript. Rather, the title belonged, and remains, exclusively with A.A.W.S., pursuant to the terms of the irrevocable gift”.
What I did find interesting is that the same manuscript came up for sale at Sotheby’s in 2004 and 2007. In 2007, Ken Roberts acquired it for $850,000 (plus commission) and had planned on selling it this month at Profiles in History where it was expected to bring $2-3 million.
Source: Alcoholics Anonymous Sues for Return of Original 12-Step Manuscript