Anna van Westerstee Beek


Anna Beek née Anna van Westerstee, was a Dutch publisher of maps.

Career

Most of the maps she produced are city and battle plans, which are mapping naval and ground troop movements. 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.. 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. 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.
Thirty maps produced by Beek are part of the Geography and Map Division's collection at the U.S. Library of Congress.