Lot 537
  • 537

GAUGUIN, PAUL; [AND CHARLES MORICE] | Noa Noa. Voyage de Tahiti. Faksimile des vollstandigen Manuskriptes nebst allen darin enthalten Zeichnungen Gauguins. [Munich: R. Piper, 1926]

Estimate
700 - 1,200 USD
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Description

  • Noa Noa. Voyage de Tahiti. Faksimile des vollstandigen Manuskriptes nebst allen darin enthalten Zeichnungen Gauguins. [Munich: R. Piper, 1926]
4to (12 1/4 x 9 3/8 in.; 311 x 238 mm). Facsimile of Gauguin's autograph manuscript with collotype reproductions of the artist's watercolors, pen-and-ink drawings, woodcuts, and photographs. Publisher's raffia binding; minor wear, some rubbing to lettering on spine and upper cover. Original dust-jacket with woodcut by Daniel de Monfried after a Gauguin design; some wear and soiling, spine renewed.

Provenance

Nelson Rockefeller (bookplate)

Literature

Artist and the Book 115; Castleman, Century pp. 22-4, 82-3

Condition

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The sumptuous facsimile of Gauguin's Tahitian journal. Copy 171 of 320 copies in the raffia binding (of a whole edition of 400). Riva Castleman has described this full color facsimile as "a remarkable event in book publishing."Gauguin's highly influential Noa Noa (a Tahitian wird meaning "fragrance") was begun in France after he artist returned in 1893 from his first stay in Tahiti. An already edited manuscript, augmented by the collaborating author Charles Morice, was taken by Gauguin with him on his second trip to Tahiti in 1895. There, he pasted prints into the manuscript and drew ink and watercolor drawings over the text. The text is based on an earlier Gauguin manuscript, L'ancien culte mahori. It is the illustrations, however, which make the book memorable. "To whatever extent Gauguin is indebted for his literary inspiration, his visual interpretation of this primitive culture in powerful rhythmic and totemic designs is distinctly his own. Althought finally published as a facsimile, Noa Noa represents an important project in book-making by this major artist" (Artist and the Book). "Noa Noa was never published as Gauguin had conceived it, but its elements influenced subsequent art and artists' books for many years" (Castleman).