De Prins

The history of the De Prins workshop represents a golden era of traditional, handmade Belgian brass craftsmanship. The company was originally established by master builder Petrus De Prins in Borgerhout, Antwerp. The firm quickly built a stellar reputation for creating exceptional instruments tailored for the blooming brass and wind band culture of Flanders. However, the outbreak of World War I brought severe disruptions, forcing the workshop to completely halt all production lines.

Following the armistice, a new chapter began in 1918 when Petrus's sons—Karel, Gustaaf, and Louis De Prins—revived the family business, restructuring the firm under the cooperative name Gebroeders De Prins (De Prins Brothers). The siblings successfully navigated the interwar and post-war eras, continuing active manufacturing deep into the 1950s. For collectors and music historians, this generational shift provides a definitive benchmarking tool for dating their instruments: horns manufactured prior to World War I are strictly engraved with the singular name 'DEPRINS', whereas post-World War I specimens feature the updated stamps 'DEPRINS Gebr.' or 'DePrins Frères'.

By the 1980s, the company faced insurmountable economic pressures. Because every single De Prins instrument was meticulously made entirely by hand, the workshop could no longer financially compete with the heavily automated, mass-production factories dominating the global market, prompting them to cease all brass manufacturing. The family maintained their retail musical instrument storefront for another ten years before closing their doors permanently. Today, the rich legacy of this artisanal family is beautifully preserved: the vast majority of their original factory inventory, tools, and historical machinery was donated and is now on display in a specialized small museum called the 'Museum van het Ambacht, Gebroeders De Prins' (Museum of Handicraft, Brothers De Prins) in the town of Wommelgem near Antwerp, Belgium.