Unexpected Treasures

If the kids are already bored with their Christmas presents, I know a collector who might be interested. Toys are just one of his obsessions, and like any pig worth his weight in bacon, this collector has much more up his sleeve.

To seek is to find, but to stumble upon is pure bliss. On a cool pre-Christmas evening while visiting The Inn at Palmetto Bluff near Savannah, Georgia, I set out on a bar crawl in the neighbouring town of Bluffton, South Carolina and met C. Matthew Taylor. Matthew is an architect with an office on downtown Calhoun Street, and when he noticed a surge in foot traffic drawn by the restaurant next door, he decided to use the storefront downstairs to showcase his other obsession—collecting.

Matthew’s passion is 1920’s to 1950’s modernism, which can be seen in both his architecture and his collections. As I visited just before Christmas, his collection of antique toys was on display. Most of the toys are now gone—snapped up in record time—replaced by Matthew’s collection of early American abstract art and antique native American jewellery (all from the same period, 1920 to 1945). Worth the visit alone is a collection of antique glass buttons from Bohemia—what is now the Czech Republic. At the turn of the century Bohemia rivalled Venice for artesian glass-making, but the world wars hit hard and both the glass and the know-how was lost. Matthew found these glass buttons sitting forgotten in factory basements around the Czech capital and brought them to their unlikely new home in Bluffton. This became the inspiration for the name of his gallery/storefront, Old Bohemia.

Like most good things, Old Bohemia won’t be around forever, and in fact may well close its doors in June. If you have any plans to visit Hilton Head, Savannah, or the Inn at Palmetto Bluff this winter or spring, make sure to include it in your plans.

Old Bohemia: +1 843 785 2282

Get in touch with Greg if you’re interested in a trip to America’s Lowcountry for some gumbo and porching.