Edith Altschul Lehman 1889 – 1974 Although she preferred to be
addressed as Mrs. Herbert H. Lehman, and often insisted that
marriage was her career and family was the greatest interest in
her life, Edith Altschul Lehman’s public persona reflected her
commitment to social causes. Known to many only as the cultured
wife of one of New York’s most popular governors and senators,
she was in her own right a passionate social activist and
philanthropist, although much of her philanthropy was not made
public. Edith Altschul Lehman was born in San Francisco on
August 8, 1889, the eldest of three children. Her parents,
Charles and Camilla (Mandlebaum) Altschul, were members of the
wealthy and cultured Jewish aristocracy of the city. Charles
Altschul, born in London to American parents and educated in
Germany, had migrated to San Francisco in 1877 and had become a
successful banker. When Edith was eleven, her father moved the
family to New York to take a position in the investment firm of
Lazard Frères and Company. She