HIMMELSTEIN, LENA

HIMMELSTEIN, LENA
HIMMELSTEIN, LENA (Lane Bryant Malsin; 1881–1951), U.S. chain store founder. Born in Lithuania, Himmelstein was taken to the United States at the age of 16. After the death of her first husband, David Bryant, she opened a small dressmaking shop in uptown New York City. In 1907 a customer asked her to design and make a maternity dress, then unknown in the country, so that she would not be forced to remain in seclusion, as was then the case with women during pregnancy. Himmelstein's design was an immediate success and, with the help of her second husband, Albert Malsin (d. 1923), her business was enlarged. In 1916 the firm was incorporated under the name of Lane Bryant, Inc., and in 1969 it consisted of more than 100 stores and affiliations. By 1917 sales exceeded $1 million and by 1968 they reached almost $200 million. In addition to maternity dresses, Lane Bryant began to design dresses and accessories for special "plus" sizes, and these became a substantial part of the firm's turnover. She was a pioneer in employee benefits, offering employee support beyond wages. By 1950, the more than 3,500 Lane Bryant employees participated in profit-sharing, pension, disability, and group life insurance plans, and fully reimbursed physician's visits and hospitalizations. Both Lane Bryant Malsin and her husband advocated prenatal care and gave generous support to its advancement. Both were also active in the American Red Cross, the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, and hias . Her son, RAPHAEL BRYANT MALSIN (1900–1995), at one time worked as a reporter for the New York Journal. In 1929 he was persuaded to enter his mother's firm and in 1938 became its president and helped to expand it. He was also chairman of the boards of Town and Country Distributors and the Coward Shoe Company, Inc. In 1982 the chain was bought by The Limited. For many years Malsin was president of Music for Westchester. He was also chairman of the board of trustees of New York's Hospital for Joint Diseases and was a generous supporter of many Jewish philanthropic causes. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: T. Mahoney, in: Independent Woman, 29 (Oct. 1950), 310–1; Americana Annual 1952 (1952), 431–2. (Joachim O. Ronall / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Himmelstein, Lena — (Lane Bryant Malsin) (1881–1951)    US dress merchant. The daughter of an immigrant family from Lithuania, Lena pioneered the design and sale of special dresses first for pregnant women and then for outsize women generally. Starting with a small… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Himmelstein, Lena (Malsin, Lane Bryant) — (1881 1951)    American dress merchant. She was the daughter of an immmigrant family from Lithuania. She pioneered the design and sale of dresses first for pregnant women and then for outsize women. She developed the Lane Bryant chain throughout… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Lena Himmelstein — Bryant Malsin (March 1877 September 26, 1951) was an American clothing designer and retailer who founded the plus size clothing chain Lane Bryant. Despite difficult circumstances, she saw a need and came up with a solution that revolutionized the …   Wikipedia

  • Lane Bryant — Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin (1879 1951) era un diseñadora de ropa estadounidense que fundó la mayor cadena de ropa llamda Lane Bryant. En 1895, una inmigrante de dieciséis años llamada Lena Himmelstein llegó a Nueva York, ella procedía de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lane Bryant — is a retail women s clothing store focusing on fashion for plus sized women. It began in the early 1900s with the innovative maternity designs created by Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin.BeginningWidowed at an early age, Lena Bryant supported… …   Wikipedia

  • Inglorious Bastards — Inglourious Basterds Inglourious Basterds Titre original Inglourious Basterds Titre québécois Le Commando des bâtards[1] Réalisation Quentin Taranti …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Inglorious Basterds — Inglourious Basterds Inglourious Basterds Titre original Inglourious Basterds Titre québécois Le Commando des bâtards[1] Réalisation Quentin Taranti …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Inglorious bastards — Inglourious Basterds Inglourious Basterds Titre original Inglourious Basterds Titre québécois Le Commando des bâtards[1] Réalisation Quentin Taranti …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Le Commando des bâtards — Inglourious Basterds Inglourious Basterds Titre original Inglourious Basterds Titre québécois Le Commando des bâtards[1] Réalisation Quentin Taranti …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Le commando des bâtards — Inglourious Basterds Inglourious Basterds Titre original Inglourious Basterds Titre québécois Le Commando des bâtards[1] Réalisation Quentin Taranti …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”