Old England and the Musical Instruments Museum

At the heart of Brussels, the former Old England department store is one of the city's most famous art nouveau buildings. Designed in 1898 by the architect Paul Saintenoy, it was the opportunity for a remarkable enterprise: that of creating in one of the capital's most fashionable quarters and no doubt for the first time in Belgium a large commercial edifice entirely in metal. It remains one of the last remaining examples of the metal department stores which saw rapid and short-lived success around 1900 before being swept aside by the advance of reinforced concrete. This richly illustrated book retraces the history of the prestigious site and tells the story of the complex restoration of the buildings and the installation of the Musical Instruments Museum in 2000.