Jacomyne Bars - printer and bookseller in Antwerp
On this website, historical women from the maritime sector share their stories. This is the story of Jacomyne Bars.
About Jacomyne Bars
- Lived: 15xx–1561?
- Employer: She was her own employer
- In which maritime sector did she work? Maritime supplier
What kind of work did she do?
She took over the business in 1550 from her husband Hendrick Peetersen van Middelburch (book printer, bookbinder, and bookseller) after he died around 1549. She was most likely already actively involved in the business prior to that time. In 1552, she received a printing license, together with her apprentice Peeter van Keerberghen. In 1557, she was admitted to the Guild of Saint Luke as a master printer. The printing business of Bars and Van Middelburch was located in the famous printers’ quarter in Antwerp and bore the name “In den Mol,” on Cammerstraat within the Cammerpoort (now Kammenstraat). Bars printed only Dutch-language books, primarily of a religious nature, totaling approximately 20 works between 1550 and 1561. One of these was by Jan Reygersberch van Cortgene, Dye Cronijcke van Zeelandt, which included a map of Zeeland depicting rivers and small boats.
* Not in the exhibition
Zeeland, depicted with south at the top right. Below the map is the inscription “Take note, dear reader, of how Zeeland is situated today, so that you may see how this land has changed over time.” Map included in the publication Dye Cronijcke van Zeelandt by Jan Reygersberch van Cortgene, published in Antwerp by the Widow Peetersen, 1551.
