Autograph Collection West Palm Beach, FL

The concept for this project is based on a property that sat in it’s place many, many years ago, when the area was considered a frontier. Frontier. The very word simply…inspires. It speaks of tenacity, of perseverance, of grit. It speaks of fear, of adrenaline, of joy, of laughter. It speaks of camaraderie and an unequivocal reliance on your neighbor in often seemingly unbearable humidity, and toothy, slithering creatures. So this story starts with a woman, Byrd Spilman Dewey, a writer who established a homestead in remarkably inhospitable terrain in an effort to take her ailing husband to cleaner air. She built a home to heal, to write, to entertain, and to gather stories that might draw gasps from the social elite. She created a place where the likes of Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson came to bond with other national dignitaries. And they all told stories… There was one gentleman, however, that told the best stories. Men would vie for a seat next to him, and all but prohibited their wives and daughters from getting too close. But Byrd Dewey was the exception to the rule, she always found time to sit by his side - or he by hers. This property is therefore not about a man, or a woman, or about the oversized alligator head mounted on the wall, but rather about the power of stories. It is a property meant for gathering and sharing. Multiple fireplaces, tables with built-in chessboards, snake skins, rare artifacts and secret views through sliding bookcases, all contribute to the conversation. Every room has, over time, accumulated artifacts which speak to innumerable adventures. Whether these adventures are factual, mildly oversold, or blatantly fabricated is utterly inconsequential. What is important, after all, is that it is a story well told.