Formation of NATO

Washington, D.C., April 4, 1949. 270 by 190mm (10¾ by 7½ inches). String-bound brochure; [4] pp. Embossed gold eagle on cover. Introductory page, followed by 2 pages of program guide, last page with a list of the 12 signers to the treaty.

Good plus; the cover lightly soiled.

Original program handed out at the April 4, 1949, signing ceremony of the North Atlantic Treaty. The implementation of this treaty is commonly termed ​“NATO” — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO originally had 12 members, all of which are listed in this program — today there are 30 member countries. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty requires member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack — a provision we all may be hearing much more about in the future as the war in the Ukraine continues to unfold.

Scarce. No other copy currently for sale. Nor could we definitively identify another copy in OCLC. However, OCLC holdings are unclear because there are several publications with the same title. There is a 66-page document with the same title published by the Office of Public Affairs in the same year and Kurk Volk and Meyer Wegman published a booklet with the same title. This is a different item; it is not a reprint, but rather the original program from the signing ceremony).

From a D.C. area estate of an individual who attended the ceremony.