Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller - Old and Rare Books

Photo-Album of Landau Synagigue [Destroyed on Kristallnacht] Dedicated to Rabbi Dr. Berthold Einstein on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday 1932 [THIRTEEN ORIGINAL SILVER GELATIN PRINTS INCLUDING FOUR OF THE LANDAU SYNAGOGUE]

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NP: NP, 1932. Original document. Hardcover. Folio. 10 plates. Original string-bound calf with Star of David at center of cover, blind-stamped decorative borders along edges. Contains four silver gelatin prints, four with tissue guards, of the synagogue built by the architect Heinrich Staudinger in 1884 for the Ashkenazi community in Landau, Palatine, on the Kaiserstraße 3. During the Nazi pogroms known as the Reichskristallnacht the synagogue was burned down on November 10, 1938, and demolished in 1959. (The Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art and Material).

The album contains a printed dedication on the verso of the front free endpaper, signed by Albert Lebarth, honoring the regional Rabbi Dr. Berthold Einstein on the occasion of his 70th birthday, December 31, 1932. Rabbi Einstein was elected to office in 1894 and served the community for more than 40 years. He was a member of the directorate of the Association of Jewish Communities of Palatinate. He was well regarded for his comprehensive knowledge of Judaism as well as his secular knowledge, his sermons and role as a teacher.

The collection of ten albumen prints with 13 motifs opens with a portrait photograph of Rabbi Dr. Berthold Einstein, followed by a photograph showing the exterior of the former synagogue in Landau where Einstein served as a Rabbi. The third photo shows the interior of the synagogue with view of the Aron Hakodesh and Bimah. Rabbi Eisenstein is depicted in the fourth print standing at the podium on the Bimah. The black ink manuscript caption for this photo is a biblical passage from Genesis.

The other photographs we identified include: the former school for "higher daughters," daughters from well-to-do families, the Otto Hahn Gymnasium, the French Gate, and a photograph from the inner city of Landau. Text in German. Binding with some chipping along edges and spine with light staining, mostly on front cover. String-ties lightly frayed. Front endpaper with very light staining. Good to very good condition. Item #55293

Price: $2,750.00