A career criminal who sliced a 350-year-old map from an atlas at the Caird Library in Greenwich has been jailed for three years, with the historic treasure still missing. Melvin West, 70, from Chingford in East London, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to theft, criminal damage and possession of a bladed article.
How the theft unfolded
West carried out a reconnaissance of the museum library before using a Stanley knife to cut one of 12 maps from an atlas printed in 1684 by Dutch cartographer Frederick de Wit. The stolen map, a double hemisphere world map called Nova Orbis Tabula, was removed on February 26 last year. Police were called to the library at around 3pm after staff found a knife on the floor of the viewing room where West had been examining the atlas.
Prosecution counsel Damian Warburton told the court that West had viewed the atlas on December 19 and 20 in 2024 and on the day before the theft. He was arrested at his address on March 4 last year, but the map was not found there. West pleaded guilty at Bromley Magistrates’ Court in May.
Judge's scathing assessment
Judge Charlotte Welsh refused a defence application to adjourn sentencing for seven days, saying she did “not believe a word of it”. Defence barrister Jessica Flain had claimed West had partially paid someone to restore the map, but that person would not return it until full restoration fees were paid. The judge noted West had told the court in June he could return the map within seven days, and in August that it was with a friend, but neither promise was fulfilled.
Judge Welsh said West had led “this court, the police and the museum a merry dance” and described the theft as motivated by “venal nature”. She said the map was of “international cultural significance” and that the damage to the atlas had “permanently diminished what can be learned from it”. The court heard the completed atlas was valued at around £50,000, with the stolen map worth £6,000 on the black market, but the atlas's value has dropped to £20,000 due to the missing page.
Impact and appeal
West has 27 convictions for 107 offences in the UK and abroad, including 41 for theft, and was previously sentenced by courts in Hungary and France. The judge imposed a three-year sentence for criminal damage, with concurrent sentences of 16 months for theft and six months for possession of a blade, and declined to suspend the sentence, stating: “Offences of this nature call for an immediate sentence of imprisonment to deter other people.”
In a victim impact statement, the museum said the loss of the centrepiece map “undermines its bibliographical integrity” and has spent thousands of pounds reviewing security arrangements. Detective Constable Sophie Hayes of the Met Police’s art and antiques unit appealed for anyone with knowledge of the map’s whereabouts to contact the police, saying: “Thefts like this mean the only people who profit from these beautiful artefacts are the thieves themselves.”
