Chippewa Bay, NY – October 5, 2005:

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Robert Bruce Duncan appreciates the finer things in life: the lines of a classic antique boat, a beautiful woman, and the artistry of a well-designed building. It was this last reason that brought this world-class photographer and author to Singer Castle to photograph its two boathouses in late August. Mr. Duncan, who lives in Santa Barbara, CA, is the author and photographer of several boating coffee table books, including Classic American Runabouts and most notably Cutwater: Speedboats and Launches from the Golden Age of Boating, which is in its sixth printing. The French language edition was published in 1999. Around 100 of his black and white portraits are on permanent display at the Mesa Café in Santa Barbara, and for eight years he also photographed speedboats for a specialty calendar. He currently has two book contracts, one of which is centered on boathouse architecture. Mr. Duncan has traveled the Adirondacks, Upper St. Regis Lakes and Miskoka, and 1000 Islands areas to capture the beauty of these service buildings that are both practical and in many cases, eye-catching. Why boathouses? Mr. Duncan said that he knew many people in the 1000 Islands from working on his antique boat books and that it “was natural for me. The owners had a real enthusiasm for these buildings: a boathouse is the entryway to an island. I am not just photographing fashionable, ‘Better Homes an Gardens'-type boathouses, but also very modest ones. These boathouses are a symbol of stability and history.” He added, “In today's throwaway society, these buildings have a richness of soul. You walk into some boathouses, be they cluttered or neat, and you see the passing of time. They will be filled with old boat parts, and in some cases, there will be portraits on the walls. I enjoy and take an abstract pleasure out of these boathouses.” A 1000 Islands friend told Mr. Duncan that, “Singer Castle has two of the best boathouses on the River,” and so he came to investigate them himself. The south boathouse on Dark Island serves multiple purposes: as admissions gate, gift shop, boathouse and storage area. The south boathouse was used by Frederick G. Bourne, the fourth president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, and original owner of Dark Island's Singer Castle, for his friends and family's use. The north boathouse, which is currently under renovation and not open to the public, housed Mr. Bourne's male servants in nine bedrooms, living area and kitchen, with three generators, telephone operator station, offices for the physician, masseuse, and hairdresser, and a boat slip that would accommodate Bourne's 100-foot steam yacht. Mr. Duncan said that the best part of photographing Singer Castle's boathouses was “getting a feel for the place. The help I get from local people and the enthusiasm and immense knowledge that they impart highlight the traditions of the area. I am very grateful for that.” Singer Castle on Dark Island is open for 45-minute guided tours weekends only from 10:00AM to 5:00PM through October 9. For more information, call (315) 324-3275 or visit the castle's website at www.singercastle.com