Chingford art thief jailed for stealing antique map from National Maritime Museum

Melvin West, who cut out a world map from a 350-year-old atlas stored at the National Maritime Museum’s Caird Library, has been jailed for three years

A Chingford art thief has been sentenced for stealing a 350-year-old map from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Melvin West, 73, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, 22nd October after pleading guilty to theft, criminal damage and possession of a bladed article.

The judge also imposed a ten-year criminal behaviour order preventing West from being alone in any reading room of a museum or library in England and Wales.

Police were called at around 3pm on 26th February 2025, after staff in the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich found a small knife on the floor under a desk.

The desk had been used by a member of the public, later identified as Melvin West, that morning.

Staff quickly identified that a 350-year-old atlas, printed in 1684, that was being viewed by West earlier in the day had been cut – and was missing one of its twelve maps.

The missing page was a celebrated example of a double hemisphere world map, called Nova Orbis Tabula, by seventeenth century Dutch cartographer Frederick de Wit.

A copy of the *Nova Orbis Tabula*, which West stole. Credit: Frederik de Wit, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Officers discovered as part of the investigation that West had visited the library three times previously. He had registered for a library reader’s card under the name Melville West.

CCTV enquiries showed how he removed the map from the book using a small knife and concealed it in his clothing.

Experienced detectives from the Met’s art and antiques unit identified West, a thief with multiple convictions in Europe for stealing pages from valuable antique books.

Officers obtained a search warrant and arrested West at his Old Church Road address in Chingford, where he was then living, on 4th March 2025. In interview he answered no comment to the majority of questions put to him.

The map remains missing and enquiries to locate it are ongoing.

Detective Constable Sophie Hayes, said: “We are appealing to anyone who has knowledge of the map’s whereabouts to do the right thing and contact the Metropolitan Police so that it can be returned to the library.

“The Caird Library is an internationally important resource, used by scholars the world over. Thefts like this mean the only people who profit from these beautiful artefacts are the thieves themselves.

“This case demonstrates our determination to bring offenders to justice.”

A Royal Museums Greenwich spokesperson said: “We are pleased the criminal case, on which we co-operated closely with the Metropolitan Police, has been brought to a close.”

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