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First edition, first printing, one of 200 copies privately printed for the author, inscribed on the imprint page, "For the Alperns - this small booklet, this fable, which made our home, and then theirs, possible. With the author's best wishes. Philip van Doren Stern, 88 Remsen Street, October 30, 1963. Our last day in the house". This is an exceptionally rare pamphlet. Stern (1900-1984) first worked in advertising before becoming a publishing editor. Between 1939 and 1943, he worked on a short story, reminiscent of Dickens's A Christmas Carol, but was unable to secure a publisher. The author therefore privately printed the story in 1943 for distribution to his friends at Christmas. One of those copies came to the attention of a producer for RKO Pictures and the motion picture rights were purchased for $10,000 in April 1944. After a number of scripts had been rejected by RKO, the rights were sold to Frank Capra. It's a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart and directed by Capra, was released in 1946. The film adaptation is now widely recognized as one of the most popular films ever made. The American Film Institute placed it 11th in its listing of 100 great American films and first in its list of inspirational films. Both Stewart and Capra identified it as their favorite film, with Stewart paying homage in a letter to Stern to the deceptively simple fable that created a worldwide phenomenon, describing it as "an inspiration to everyone concerned with the picture... the fundamental story was so sound and right". During the Second World War, Stern was the general manager of the Armed Services Editions, which published popular books in a miniature format to fit in the pockets of military uniforms. After the war, he became a historian. The Chicago Tribune obituary of the author described him as "widely respected by scholars for his authoritative books on the Civil War". The inscription makes reference to the author's home in Brooklyn. The property at 88 Remsen Street, a brownstone townhouse in Brooklyn Heights, was built in 1915. Stern lived most of his life in Brooklyn and Manhattan before retiring to Florida in the late 1970s. It would appear that Stern sold 88 Remsen Street to the Alpern family in 1963, hence the inscription. Alan Nathaniel Alpern was resident at the property when he registered a patent for a magnetic window lock in 1970. He was born in 1927 and, after studying at Harvard University, became a lawyer, investor, and marketing executive. Like Stern, he retired to Florida. After the privately printed edition, the story was published commercially in 1944. Stern also sold periodical rights to Reader's Scope and Good Housekeeping (who published the story as "The Man Who Was Never Born"). The original publication remains rare: no copies of this edition are recorded either at auction or on WorldCat. This copy, inscribed in 1963, suggests that not all 200 copies were distributed by the author in 1943. READ MORE Octavo. Original orange wrappers, front wrappers with white label and lettering in black. Some light staining to wrappers and label: a near-fine copy. Chicago Tribune, 2 August 1984, p. C10.