Synagogues of the South: Architecture and Jewish Identity. An Exhibit of Postcards from the William A. Rosenthall Judaica Collection by Samuel D. Gruber

Abstract

Reviewed by: Synagogues of the South: Architecture and Jewish Identity. An Exhibit of Postcards from the William A. Rosenthall Judaica Collection by Samuel D. Gruber Jeanne Abrams (bio) Synagogues of the South: Architecture and Jewish Identity. An Exhibit of Postcards from the William A. Rosenthall Judaica Collection. 2022. Online exhibit (https://synagoguesofthesouth.cofc.edu/) produced under the auspices the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture (CSJC) at the College of Charleston and Addlestone Library's Jewish Heritage Collection (JHC). Curated by Samuel D. Gruber. Even before Covid-19 forced most cultural institutions to close to the public, curators and administrators of museums and archives had learned to appreciate the value of online exhibits. Not only do such exhibits enable organizations to reach a wider audience, but these types of projects also often generate financial support as well as donations of archival materials and artworks. Synagogues of the South: Architecture and Jewish Identity. An Exhibit of Postcards from the William A. Rosenthall Judaica Collection has made good use of this technological opportunity with a rich and colorful exhibit that explores the history of southern synagogues through the use of an often overlooked primary source: postcards. Synagogues of the South is ably researched and written by architectural historian Samuel D. Gruber. The online exhibit allows viewers to explore dozens of synagogues selected from the Rosenthall Collection at the College of Charleston. The parameters of "the South" are defined quite broadly, stretching from Maryland south to Florida and west to Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Many of the exhibit images are of former synagogues, either now demolished or repurposed, making the postcards valuable as archival resources. The attractive display focuses on the early twentieth century, primarily synagogues located in urban settings and Reform temples, although there is a smattering of photographs of Orthodox or Conservative structures. Postcards became very popular in late-nineteenth century America. The cost of mailing at the time was only one cent. Synagogue postcards, which composed just a tiny fraction of architectural postcards, were not produced by Jews; rather, they were created as part of broader projects that displayed what were considered important buildings in American cities and towns. This historical context helps to explain why most of the postcards depict the more ornate, imposing southern Reform synagogues of the time, generally built by affluent, Americanized [End Page 329] congregations. Gruber, the exhibit curator, explains that interior images are relatively rare, but he provides descriptions of interiors when these descriptions are available. Online exhibits offer several advantages over traditional in-person museum shows. In most cases, online images can be manipulated and enlarged, allowing viewers access to more detailed, granular images. Audiences may also visit exhibits at their leisure in convenient time segments that allow the material to be more easily digested. This is certainly a plus for Synagogues of the South because the exhibit presents a wide variety of architectural styles, including federal, gothic revival, Romanesque, Moorish, classical, art deco, and modern. It also provides short introductory essays on each style, although the focus of the exhibit is approximately one hundred images of synagogue postcards. Viewing an exhibit like Synagogues of the South in person, including the detailed descriptions of the synagogues and the background essays, might have proven tedious or overwhelming in one visit. Synagogues of the South is not intended to be an all-inclusive online exhibit as it reflects neither all parts of the South nor all synagogue styles. It is also somewhat narrowly focused. As the introductory segment to Synagogues of the South asserts, "this exhibit is not a history of the Jewish communities of the South or even of their various congregations." Rather, the goals are to inspire "a more comprehensive picture of the built heritage of the Jewish South," to "identify and analyze" the synagogues pictured in the select postcards, and to "understand aspects of American and especially southern Jewish community development and identity." This is a rather tall order. The exhibit only partially succeeds in explicating these ambitious themes in the relatively brief spaces provided for text labels, which tend to focus on the histories of the respective synagogues. Still, this handsomely displayed exhibit reminds us that regional history provides context...