Noa Noa: My Voyage to Tahiti by Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) - 1947

117 pages with 11 plates and 36 woodcuts. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's beige cloth with brown and black lettering to spine and brown pictorial to cover. First American edition. During his first visit to Tahiti (1891-1893), Paul Gauguin documented his experiences in his travel journal, Noa Noa. We first encounter the phrase, 'noa noa,' when Gauguin describes the scent of the Tahitian women: A mingled perfume, half animal, half vegetable emanated from them; the perfume of their blood and of the gardenias tiaré which they wore in their hair. When he returned to Paris in 1893, he was anxious to exhibit the works he produced during his two year sojourn. Realizing that the Parisian art world might not understand his new work, he began writing Noa Noa to accompany an exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Gallery in Paris. He hoped that the travel journal would provide the viewer with the context necessary to comprehend the new themes in the works on exhibit. The work however, was not completed in time for the exhibition opening. Condition: Stain at heal hinge, previous owner's name on front end paper. Jacket spine ends and corners chipped, edge wear else very good in like jacket.