Guide to the Robert Holbrook Smith ("Dr. Bob") collection, 1885-1992

(bulk 1936-1992)

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2023

Collection Overview

Title:	Robert Holbrook Smith ("Dr. Bob") collection
Date range:	1885-1992, (1936-1992)
Creator:	Smith, Robert Holbrook, 1879-1950
Extent:	7 Linear Feet
Abstract:	The Robert Holbrook Smith ("Dr. Bob") collection, most of which dates from 1936 to 1992, consists of a wide variety of materials, including an extensive selection of books and other printed materials; correspondence; manuscripts; business papers; photographs; certificates, awards and bonds; ephemera; and an assortment of artifacts. These materials are primarily associated with Robert Holbrook Smith and the organization he founded with William G. Wilson, Alcoholics Anonymous. It also includes materials associated with William G. Wilson; Anne Ripley Smith and Lois Burnham Wilson, the respective spouses of Smith and Wilson; and other family members, friends and AA associates.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	Ms.2005.66

Scope & content

The Robert Holbrook Smith (Dr. Bob")collection includes a variety of books, periodicals, booklets and pamphlets, some of which belonged to Robert Holbrook Smith's own library. It includes The Grapevine, an international AA journal written, edited and illustrated by AA members; miscellaneous booklets published by AA; and a first edition copy of Alcoholics Anonymous, (known to members as The Big Book published in 1939. Other noteworthy publications in the collection include an assortment of booklet materials published by The Oxford Group; The Theosophical Society of America; The Mission Press, Haldemann-Julius (Little Blue Book series), and the United Church of Christianity.

The collection also includes a small selection of correspondence (hand-written, type-written, and photocopied) originating from or sent to Robert Holbrook Smith, William G. Wilson, Anne R. Smith, Lois B. Wilson, and Smith's daughter, Sue Smith Windows. Business correspondence and papers associated with AA, including materials from the General Service Board and its predecessor, the Alcoholic Foundation, provide a glimpse into the development of AA's operational structure.

The manuscripts portion of this collection includes a type-written essay by Robert Holbrook Smith and William G. Wilson, entitled "Your Third Legacy;" an essay by William G. Wilson, entitled "The Alcoholics Foundation of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow;" and some hand-written notes on Christian spirituality from Anne R. Smith's journals - notes which were influenced by her involvement in The Oxford Group and influential in the development of the spiritual principles behind AA's twelve step program. It also includes a type-written manuscript of the book, The Courage to Change‚ by the Rev. Sam Shoemaker, whose writings influenced both Smith and Wilson and their development of AA principles. Other noteworthy manuscript items include a significant number of documents (hand-written, type-written, and photocopied) from a variety of authors, many of which are brief personal testimonials of recovery from alcoholism, most likely collected for AA publications. There are numerous hand-written and type-written tributes to Anne R. Smith, by a variety of authors, which were collected by William G.Wilson and provide a detailed portrait of her character and her various contributions to the AA movement.

An interesting variety of personal items belonging to the Smith family are an important part of this collection. They include large studio photographs of Robert Holbrook Smith, William G. Wilson and Anne R. Smith; miscellaneous awards commemorating Robert Holbrook Smith's various professional achievements; the guest books from the funerals of both Robert Holbrook Smith and Anne R. Smith; Christmas cards (some handmade); and invitations to miscellaneous AA functions. Of note are a number of Robert Holbrook Smith's personal possessions including his wallet and social security card; his medical instruments and prescription pad; desk accessories engraved with his initials; his golf clubs and trophy; and his World Series baseball, from 1948 (signed by the Cleveland Indians team and their manager Lou Boudreau.)

The most striking artifact in the collection is an aluminum coffee pot from the Smith family's kitchen - the original coffee pot that Smith used to sober up with when he and William G.Wilson first began meeting together in Smith's home in May of 1935.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Lois, 1894-1988
• Shoemaker, Samuel M. (Samuel Moor), 1893-1963. Courage to change
• Shoemaker, Samuel M. (Samuel Moor) 1893-1963. Courage to change
• Smith, Anne, 1891-1949
• W., Bill
• Smith, Robert Holbrook, 1879-1950

Subject Organizations

• Founders Foundation
• Robert Holbrook Smith collection (Brown University)
• Oxford Group
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• AA Grapevine Inc.
• Alcoholics Anonymous--History

Subject Topics

• Recovering alcoholics
• Health and Medicine
• Publications
• Alcoholics -- United States -- Biography
• Physicians -- United States -- Biography
• Recovery movement
• Physicians

Document Types

• Prints
• Printed ephemera
• Photographs
• Manuscripts for publication
• Artifacts
• Awards
• Bonds (Legal records)
• Business letters
• Certificates
• Ephemera
• Manuscripts (documents)
• Letters (Correspondence)

Arrangement

The collection is divided into the following series:

• Series 1. Correspondence
• Series 2. Manuscripts
• Series 3. Business papers
• Series 4. Printed materials
• Series 5. Photographs
• Series 6. Certificates, awards, bonds
• Series 7. Ephemera
• Series 8. Artifacts
• Series 9. Collection history

Series 1 and 2, Correspondence and Manuscripts, are arranged by individual person, with items originating from or associated with Robert Holbrook Smith grouped first, followed by items originating from or associated with Williams G. Wilson, and finally followed by items originating from or associated with the respective spouses of Smith and Wilson, and other family members and associates.

Biographical Note on Robert Holbrook Smith

Robert Holbrook Smith, known simply as "Dr. Bob" in the AA community, was born on August 8, 1879 in St. Johnsbury, VT, the only son of Judge and Mrs. W.P. Smith. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1902 and three years later entered the University of Michigan as a premed student. In 1910, after further training at Rush Memorial College in Chicago, he received his medical degree and secured an internship in City Hospital, Akron, Ohio. In 1912, he began his career as a medical doctor and surgeon. He married Anne Ripley in 1915. They had two children, Susan and Robert.

Smith was an active member of the City Hospital staff in Akron, Ohio, and had frequent contacts with nearby St. Thomas Hospital, where in 1928 he met Sister Ignatia who later became an influential person in Smith's work with recovering alcoholics. Later, in 1935, he became professionally associated with St. Thomas Hospital and in 1943 became a member of its permanent active staff.

Smith started drinking as a young adult and continued to drink heavily during the early years of his marriage and professional career. As his alcoholism progressed steadily, he began a desperate search for an answer to his problem. With strong encouragement and support from his wife, Anne R. Smith, he started attending meetings of the Oxford Group, a Christian evangelical fellowship, founded by Dr. Frank N. D. Buchman in 1919 and considered to be a forerunner of AA because of its emphasis on self-examination, acknowledgement of character defects, restitution of harm done, reliance on God, and working with others.

In May of 1935, Smith, still struggling with alcohol addiction, met William G. Wilson ("Bill W."), who was on a business trip to Akron, Ohio and on the verge of a relapse into alcoholism. The two became friends and were able to support one another in their struggles with alcohol addiction. They began reading the Bible together, offered each other support, engaged in long discussions and reviewed Oxford Group ideas, all of which were influential in the development of AA and its pioneering 12-step recovery program.

Smith died of cancer at City Hospital in Akron, Ohio, on November 16, 1950.

Historical note on Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who meet in groups to share their experiences and common problems, and to help each other recover from alcoholism. It was the first 12-step recovery program and continues to be the source and the model for all similar recovery groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Anon/Alateen. Founded in 1935 by Robert Holbrook Smith and William G. Wilson, it was the first organization run by and for alcoholics, and the first to offer sustained support of alcoholics regardless of their financial standing. It continues to be recognized and supported by the psychiatric, medical, and clerical communities.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Brown University Library. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Alternate form:	In order to make the Dr. Bob Collection more accessible and to provide a sample of the kind of material in the collection, parts of the collection have been digitized. To view the digitized material: go to the Inventory and click on the hyperlinked text.
Preferred citation:	Robert Holbrook Smith collection, Ms. 2005.66, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Robert Holbrook Smith ("Dr. Bob") collection was purchased from Sue Smith Windows, daughter of Robert Holbrook Smith, with donated funds through the intermediary of Dr. David Lewis of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University
Processing information:	Original Wear-Ever aluminum coffee perculator used by Robert Holbrook Smith and William G. Wilson when they first began meeting together in Smith's home in May of 1935.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Robert J. Rosa.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-05-04.
Descriptive rules:	Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Additional Information

Related material:	COLLECTIONS AT BROWN UNIVERSITYVideo of Sue Windows' donation, David C. Lewis papers (The video can be viewed at the John Hay Library; it will be posted online at a future date.) Hearing about the Chester H. Kirk Collection on Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous at Brown University, Dr. David Lewis was contacted by Dr. Bob's daughter, Sue Smith Windows, who was seeking a home for her father's archive. With funding secured, Dr. Lewis flew to Akron, Ohio to meet personally with Sue Windows to receive the archive for Brown University. The video documents the visit, and shows Sue Windows giving Dr. Lewis the iconic coffee pot from the Smith's kitchen, which was used by Robert Smith (Dr. Bob) and William G. Wilson (Bill W.) to brew java in Dr. Bob's effort to stay sober during their initial meetings.Alcohol, Temperance and Prohibition CollectionMATERIALS AT OTHER REPOSITORIESAn AA Timeline (Providence Point website)Alcoholics Anonymous: Historical Data (Alcoholics Anonymous website)Center for Alcohol Studies (Rutgers University)"The Doctor's Nightmare" by Dr. Robert H. S. (Silkworth website)Dr. Bob's Home, Akron, Ohio (Dr. Bob's Home website)"Dr. Bob Smith as a Founder of AA," Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, April 1994 (Dartmouth University website) The home of Bill W. in Bedford Hills, N.Y. (Stepping Stones website)The Little Red Book
Separated material:	The books from the Robert Holbrook Smith collection are cataloged separately and can be found in the Library's catalog under the heading: Robert Holbrook Smith collection
Location/Existence of copies:	In order to make the Dr. Bob Collection more accessible and to provide a sample of the kind of material in the collection, parts of the collection have been digitized. To view the digitized material: go to the Inventory and click on the hyperlinked text.
Other information:	Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: Robert Holbrook Smith ("Dr. Bob") collection

Inventory

---