Anna van Westerstee Beek explained

Anna Beek née Anna van Westerstee (25 November 1657, The Hague - after October 1717, The Hague),^[1] was a Dutch publisher of maps.^[2]

Career

Most of the maps she produced are city and battle plans, which are mapping naval and ground troop movements.^[3] The War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 and the majority of the maps she sold were of key moments, providing news of events in real time.^[4] She married the publisher and art dealer Barent Beek in 1678, but after a 15-year marriage and having seven children together, her spouse deserted her. She later divorced him and the local courts supported her running the family business.^[5] Since at least 1697 she often used her maiden name "Van Westerstee" again. Several reference books consider her the engraver of some of the works she published.^[1]

Thirty maps produced by Beek are part of the Geography and Map Division's collection at the U.S. Library of Congress.^[6]

See also

• List of women printers and publishers before 1800

Notes and References

1. Margreet van der Hut, Westerstee, Anna van (1657-na 1717) in Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland (in Dutch)
2. Beeck, Anna, and Gaspar De Baillieu. A collection of plans of fortifications and battles, -1709: Europe. [S.l.: s.n, 1709] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008621715/. (Accessed March 22, 2018.)
3. The Map: Poltava, 1709, History Today, Volume 67 Issue 10 October 2017
4. The Map: Poltava, 1709, History Today, Volume 67 Issue 10 October 2017
5. Van den Hoonaard, Will C. Map worlds: A history of women in cartography. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 2013.
6. Web site: Anna Beek and the War of the Spanish Succession . Osborn . Carlyn . Library of Congress . 25 March 2016 . 2018-03-22.