Ouevre Maternelle des Couveuses d’Enfants, Brussels

In the closing months of 1905, Alexandre Lion’s Œuvre Maternelle des Couveuses d’Enfants opened a Brussels branch at 13, rue de la Madeleine, in the city centre. Lion was an exhibitor at the Liège Exposition Universelle et Internationale, which closed on November 6th, 1905, so it is possible that he simply transferred the incubators and other equipment from Liege to Brussels to equip the new branch, a distance of less than 100 km.

The establishment was announced across the Belgian press in mid-November 1905: the French-language Le Peuple (November 18) and Le Vingtième Siècle (November 17) both carried a promotional story, describing an “établissement de démonstration” where the public could observe the methods used to save infants born prematurely or in a state of “congenital debility” (a term often used interchangeably with prematurity in French obstetrics). The Dutch-language Het Nieuws van den Dag ran a parallel item in its Meedeelingen column (November 18), calling the new premises a free aid-house (kosteloos hulphuis) on the Magdalenasteenweg. All three notices recycled Lion’s stock publicity: fifteen years of activity, more than 5,000 infants saved, and participation in numerous universal and regional expositions. The papers also carried a striking human-interest anecdote — the surviving twin girls of a triplet birth (the third died at birth) on the rue Limauge in Ixelles, each weighing exactly 1,060 grams, entrusted to the Ouevre Maternelle from an indigent family that already had ten young children.

The Brussels branch operated on the familiar paying-exhibition model Lion used elsewhere: admission was 15 centimes, with children admitted for 5 centimes, and the premises were open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. A late-November 1905 notice in Le Soir (26 November) reported the establishment already held six small babies weighing barely a kilo, among them the surviving twin sisters, and that visitors were flocking in. Brief visit-notices and advertisements continued into the new year: Le Petit Bleu du Matin carried a short “VOIR” notice on 18 December 1905 giving only the address and admission prices, and on 16 January 1906 Le Soir printed a billet de faveur — a complimentary admission ticket valid until 31 January, every day except Sundays and holidays — the kind of promotional device that typically signals an operator working to sustain flagging attendance.

The souvenir postcard, captioned Œuvre Maternelle des Couveuses d’Enfants, 13, rue de la Madeleine, Bruxelles, shows Lion’s usual stock photos: a row of Couveuse Lion incubators along one wall, each with its tall chimney flue, tended by an attendant, with an inset detail of a single “Couveuse Lion” unit. It is consistent in style with the souvenir cards Lion produced for his other exposition and storefront installations. The last located mention in the Belgian press is a short Le Soir notice of 26 January 1906 urging readers to visit; nothing has been found thereafter. That silence, combined with the billet de faveur campaign earlier that month (Le Soir, 16 January 1906), suggests the storefront was short-lived — very possibly closing within a few months of opening.

Sources (BelgicaPress, KBR)

• Le Vingtième Siècle, 17 November 1905 — “Faits divers,” opening announcement, Œuvre Maternelle des Couveuses d’Enfants, 13, rue de la Madeleine, Brussels.
• Le Peuple, 18 November 1905 — “Les couveuses d’enfants,” opening announcement and Ixelles triplet anecdote.
• Het Nieuws van den Dag, 18 November 1905 — “Meedeelingen: Kinderverpleging,” Dutch-language notice of the kosteloos hulphuis on the Magdalenasteenweg.
• Le Soir, 26 November 1905 — notice reporting six infants in the establishment, including the surviving twins (“compte déjà 6 jolis petits bébés”), with admission prices.
• Le Petit Bleu du Matin, 18 December 1905 — “VOIR” visit notice with address and admission prices.
• Le Soir, 16 January 1906, p. 5 — billet de faveur (complimentary admission ticket valid until 31 January; open 10 a.m.–9 p.m.).
• Le Soir, 26 January 1906 — “Faits divers,” short notice urging readers to visit the couveuses d’enfants, 13, rue de la Madeleine (last located press mention).

Last Updated on 07/30/26