Melvin West, 70, has been sentenced to three years in prison for cutting a rare 17th Century world map from a 1684 atlas at the Caird Library, part of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The map, created by Dutch cartographer Frederik de Wit, has not been recovered despite West's repeated promises to return it. The judge at Woolwich Crown Court criticised West for misleading authorities and suggested he may have stolen the map to sell it.
The stolen map, known as Nova Orbis Tabula, is of significant cultural importance and is studied globally. The complete atlas was valued at around £50,000, with the map alone potentially worth £6,000 on the black market. West pleaded guilty to theft, criminal damage, and possession of a bladed article. The judge emphasised the cultural loss and imposed immediate custody to deter similar offences.
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Source: BBC UK News. Aggregated summary, not independent reporting.