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In French. You can see the beige covers in the photos. They are mostly quite clean, a couple of tiny spots off the front bottom edge. There is cover loss/rub-through at the two top corners, also rub-through at the two bottom corners. In addition there is a bump crease at both the rear top edge and rear bottom edge. The middle page edge has a half dozen or so small tan spots. The book is square and the spine is straight. The binding is very solid from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout and nicely tight covers as well. The interior of the book is in very nice condition. The pages are very clean. There are one or two small tan spots on the front inside cover and front end paper and one on the title page. There's also a small tanning just below the top corners of the last five pages of text (nowhere near the text) and two blank rear end papers. I didn't find any creasing in the book. There are no markings. No attachments. And no one has written their name or anything else anywhere. ' Evocative text and richly colored illustrations (sensuous woodblock prints and sketches) of Gauguin's Tahiti diary. Including Tahitian myths and legends, affectionate tales of Gauguin's encounters with the beautiful Tahitian people, and fascinating glimpses of the inspiration behind his most famous paintings.' '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--tiari--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. Gauguin's first journey to Tahiti can be interpreted as self-imposed exile. In light of his contemporaries incomprehension of his art, his hostile critics and the financial disaster he was facing, Tahiti was an escape from Western civilization--an unspoiled land. To finance his trip to Tahiti, Gauguin organized a sale of 30 of his art works with the French auction house, Hôtel Drouot, on Monday, February 23, 1891. The sale was relatively successful and the proceeds from the sale amounted to about 9,860 French francs. He left Marseille on April 1, 1891, and arrived in Papeete on June 9--a 69-day voyage. The publication history of the manuscript is as tumultuous as Gauguin's life. Before leaving for Tahiti, Gauguin gave the manuscript to the poet, Charles Morice, who kept it until 1908 when he sold it to the publisher Edmond Sagot to settle debts he had incurred. The first manuscript of Noa Noa was forgotten for nearly forty years. Morice and Gauguin had a serious falling-out over the financial arrangements, and after Gauguin's death, his wife and children continued to squabble about publication rights and financial arrangements. World War I intervened, which further delayed publication. In 1916, the publisher George Cris negotiated a contract with Gauguin's wife, Mette, who died in 1920. Finally, in 1924, the manuscript was published with 24 woodcuts inspired by Gauguin and created by his on-time artist friend, Georges-Daniel de Monfried.'. Seller Inventory # 004683
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