52 Farewells by Geoff Latta (PDF)

"During the nine years I worked at Tannen’s I would session with Geoff Latta almost every day after work. He was one of the best card and coin sleight of hand artist I have ever met. His enthusiasm and attention to detail was unsurpassed. I remember one day he was bothered because he noticed that when he palmed a card, one of the veins on the back of his hand would bulge. It drove him crazy. Not sure he ever solved that problem, but I can highly recommend anything that is attached to his name, because he was thinking on a higher level than the rest of us." - Meir Yedid

"52 Farewells: Latta on Cards is a must-have for anyone looking to advance their card handling. The items in this book have been kept underground for decades—secrets just as relevant today as they were then. There’s more than enough here to justify the price of admission. Trust me when I say, Geoffrey was way ahead of his time, and I’m thrilled that his work is finally being shared with the magic community!

I had the pleasure of watching Geoff handle cards, and I never forgot how fantastic these routines looked in his hands. His mastery was something truly special, and now, thanks to this book, others can experience and learn from his genius." - Bill Malone

"I enjoyed every word and every photograph of this exquisitely conceived study. Details make magic, and Latta's cohesive theories and resulting refinements make this essential reading for anyone who wants to elevate their card magic. He was a legend—now he's a relentless, flesh-and-blood inspiration." - Gordon Bean

"Anyone who read “The Long Goodbye” will already be in line for “52 Farewells.” Though better known for his innovative coin magic, Geoff Latta was equally skillful and creative with a deck of cards in his graceful hands. This collection includes his extraordinary work on foundational sleights, superb versions of classic plots, and amazing body of revolutionary original work. As important as it is to have a record of this important underground magician’s output, it’ll be even more exciting to see a new generation of magicians performing Geoff’s seminal card creations for appreciative audiences everywhere. His are shoulders we’d all do well to stand on." - Eric Mead

In the last decades of the twentieth century, word rippled out from New York City that another phenomenon in coin and card magic was surfacing in the wake of the waves caused by Derek Dingle, David Roth and Darwin Ortiz. The name of the phenomenon was Geoffrey Latta. Dingle was, by more than a decade, the senior of this group. Latta was less than a decade its junior—just five years younger than David Roth, who became his mentor.

While the others quickly became recognized as new masters in a fresh vanguard of East Coast close-up magic, Latta kept a quiet profile. He did not pursue a performing career, he seldom lectured on his magic and he published selectively, an item here, another there. Yet his material and its influence slowly permeated the fabric of modern close-up magic. This quiet dissemination of sleights and tricks disguised a surprisingly large body of important work.

Accompanying the text is the collected card work featured in the underground video The Pink Purse Tapes. This is a rare opportunity to see the master at work in his prime. This video was often closely guarded and traded for access to rare information. Now it’s available commercially for the first time.

52 Farewells gathers all of Geoffrey Latta’s known card magic, published as well as private. It is a companion volume, equal in importance to The Long Goodbye. These two books are a milestone, one to be marked on the maps of all serious students of consummate card and coin magic.