Family Background
Heinrich Joseph Herman Marie Hucklenbroich was born on July 29, 1871, into a prosperous family with deep roots in both commerce and industry. Henri's father, Joseph Hucklenbroich, was born in 1838 in Erkelenz, Prussia, and came from an affluent background. His father Heinrich Hucklenbroich had been a bailiff for the town of Erkelenz, and his grandfather, Johannes Bartholomäus Hucklenbroich, had been the mayor of Dattenfeld in Prussia.
Joseph, raised in Germany, showed a strong interest in commerce and business from an early age. He initially co-founded Lenssen & Hucklenbroich in 1862, a textile trading company in Gladbach, trading mainly in linen.
By 1864, he sought greater opportunities in Belgium's industrial boom and relocated to Brussels. Two years later, he married Adelgunda Inderfurt, known as Adele, on October 15, 1866.
His first child, Karl (Charles), was born in Erkelenz in 1867, indicating he maintained ties with his hometown. Records show he expanded his ventures to Lyon, France, in 1868, representing a Belgian firm there. His second child, Marie-Therese Catherine (Tita), was born in Lyon in 1869.
Founding of La Fabrique
Joseph's plans to settle permanently in Lyon were disrupted by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. When France declared war against Prussia on July 19, 1870, his status as a Prussian-born citizen became problematic. Facing growing anti-German sentiment in France, Joseph made the strategic decision to return to Belgium in 1871, where he could continue his business activities in a more welcoming environment. As a businessman with a wife and two children, Joseph chose to resettle back in Brussels in 1871, on Boulevard Leopold II, in the borough of Molenbeek in Brussels.
In 1882, Joseph became one of the five founders of La Fabrique Belge de Matières Premières pour la Chapellerie (The Belgian Factory of Raw Materials for Hat-making). The company was registered in May 1882 at 13 Rue Ransfort in Molenbeek. The company specialized in raw material processing for hat-making, providing felt, straw, and textiles for Belgian and international hat manufacturers. Rue Ransfort was considered one of Brussels' manufacturing centers, hosting diverse sectors from metalworks to textiles to food processing. The opening of the Canal of Charleroi transformed Molenbeek into an industrial commune.
Factories and houses were built along the canal between Brussels and Molenbeek. The area became known as "Little Manchester" due to the quantity of materials brought in by barge straight to source. Rue Ransfort was well placed to accept canal deliveries, further advancing the industrial revolution in Belgium. La Fabrique Belge de Matières Premières pour la Chapellerie (FBMC) thrived in the hat-making materials industry.
In 1885, Joseph was granted Belgian citizenship after fulfilling the necessary requirements, including residency and demonstrating good moral character. Official reports specifically acknowledged his valuable contributions to the industry.The company restructured in late 1893, and relocated their operations to Rue Ransfort 25. The reorganized enterprise continued manufacturing hat-making materials and dyed furs, specializing in hair preparation for hatters. Leadership included Frans Bruns (who married Joseph's daughter Tita) and Joseph's son Edouard as administrators
Belgian Hat Industry
By the 1890s, Belgium's hat industry flourished amid Europe's vibrant culture. Belgian women favored wide-brimmed, heavily decorated hats, while men adopted the Bowler and Homburg styles crafted from oval-blocked felt.Belgium gained fame for its wooden hat blocks and beaver-finish fur felt production. FBMC established itself as the second-largest supplier of rabbit furs for hatters in Belgium.
Hats denoted social status, with Brussels' elite commissioning custom designs. The 1897 opening of department stores like à l'Innovation democratized access to ready-to-wear hats.The American Special Consular Report of 1898 recognized FBMC as significant in global hat-making, noting exports of hatters' fur from Brussels to the United States had doubled between 1890-1892.
Henri's Artistic Journey
Joseph did exceedingly well financially, and naturally wanted to raise his children in the best possible conditions. They were well educated, well traveled, and culturally refined.
As members of the industrial bourgeoisie in late 19th-century Belgium, the Hucklenbroich family was distinct from the hereditary nobility. They sought recognition by adopting aristocratic lifestyles—building grand townhouses and country villas, while valuing practical education, technical schools, and scientific advancement. In this social context, language played an important role in defining one's status. French was the prevailing language used in business and elite culture, even in Flemish regions of Belgium. However, within the Hucklenbroich household, German remained an important part of their heritage. Leon Hucklenbroich, Henri's nephew, provided evidence of this linguistic duality in his notes. He referred to the salon in Joseph's home as the "wohnzimmer" in quotes, suggesting that German was spoken at home between family members, while French was used in public and business settings.Henri was raised in this cultured environment where the arts were valued, though not all artistic pursuits were equally encouraged. Music had always been a major part of the Hucklenbroich family. Henri played the cello alongside his father on violin, while his mother Adele accompanied the duo on piano and with her voice.
For his education, Henri likely attended the prestigious Institut Saint-Louis, founded in 1858 to accommodate pupils from the new Leopold district located adjacent to Molenbeek. He eventually moved on to study Horticulture at L'École Horticulturelle de Gembloux. It may have been during these studies of plants and flora that he discovered his talent for artwork. Despite his father's disapproval of painting as a career path, Henri decided to pursue his artistic passions. This decision marked the beginning of what would become his artistic journey—a seed had been planted that would soon flourish into a brief but meaningful period of artistic expression.
