A 70-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison for cutting a rare 17th-century world map from a valuable atlas at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
The stolen map, which is one of only three of its kind in the world, remains missing, according to The Daily Mail.
The judge said he had misled the court, police and museum about the map’s location and had been given eight months to return it.
Melvin West used a Stanley knife to remove the map from the atlas. However, Judge Welsh rejected the request. Because his pension credit did not cover his basic living costs, she said he had been under serious financial pressure.
Woolwich Crown Court heard that West visited The Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum on December 19 and 20, 2024, and February 25, 2025. Judge Charlotte Welsh said West had repeatedly failed to explain where the map was or return it after his arrest on March 4, 2025.
West’s defence barrister, Jessica Flain, told the court that he was ashamed of his actions and understood that he had done wrong. She said West had previously claimed that he could return the map within seven days and later said it was with a friend, but neither promise had been fulfilled. The judge said he had misled the court, police and museum about the map’s location and had been given eight months to return it.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to theft, criminal damage and possession of a bladed article at Bromley Magistrates’ Court in May. The court had previously postponed a hearing in June to give him time to recover from double heart bypass surgery and return the map, but he failed to do so.
