Melvin West in his police mugshot, and the stolen map

Melvin West, 70, cut a rare map from a 17th-century atlas at the Caird Library in Greenwich, London, and was sentenced to three years in jail for the theft. But the 1684 map, cut out with a utility knife, has not been recovered, and the presiding judge at Woolwich Crown Court said West had led authorities on a "merry dance" over where it was.

The double hemisphere world map, known as Nova Orbis Tabula, was one of 12 in the atlas, and is studied by scholars around the world. … West was arrested at his home in March 2025, but the map was not there. He pleaded guilty at Bromley Magistrates' Court in May to theft, criminal damage and possession of a bladed article. Prosecution barrister Damian Warburton said the complete atlas had been worth about £50,000 and the map alone could fetch £6,000 on the black market.

West's story is that he handed it to a restorer who would not return it until his fee was settled.…