We would like to point out to readers this Tumblr photo blog, A Synagogue a Day — which also has a Twitter feed.
It does just what it says: posts a picture of a synagogue every day — synagogues from all over the world.
The images come from the old postcards and photographs in the William A. Rosenthall Collection of Judaica, which the College of Charleston Special Collection acquired in 2007.
Rosenthall, an Ohio-born rabbi and scholar who died in 2005, served as director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism from 1962 to 1973. His longest tenure as rabbi was at Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) in Charleston, South Carolina.
Rabbi Rosenthall began collecting Judaica during his childhood, inspired after receiving a postcard of the Jugendstil Synagogue in Augsburg, Germany, from his grandmother. Searching all corners of the globe, he amassed a spectacular collection of printed material and artwork that traces the portrayal of Jews by scholars, artists, laypersons, and even anti-Semites from the 16th to the 21st centuries. The collection includes over 100 linear feet of rare books, fine art, postcards, illustrated journals, greeting cards, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, cartoons, etchings, chromolithographs, watercolors, medallions, stamps, and textiles.
The materials document the Jewish people: their lives, history, religious ceremonies, dress, and customs. A particular collecting focus of Rabbi Rosenthall was images of synagogues, including interior and exterior building views, maps, and panoramas. The images depict synagogues located around the globe, including European synagogues destroyed by the Nazis or converted to stables and warehouses. Many of these images as well as illustrations and photographs of Jewish ghettos, costumes, and cemeteries were grouped by subject and location and stored in approximately 90 portfolios. The portfolios also include Jewish caricatures, postage stamps, New Year cards, portraits of individuals, and clippings from Jewish journals and publications.