Thief cuts 350-year-old map from museum atlas

A professional criminal who stole a "historically unique" 350-year-old map from a UK museum has been jailed for three years after a judge accused him of causing irreparable damage to international cultural heritage.

According to The Telegraph, 70-year-old Melvin West cut one of the 12 maps with a knife from an atlas printed in 1684 by Dutch cartographer Frederick de Wit. The missing map, Nova Orbis Tabula, is a famous world map depicting two hemispheres and has not yet been found.

"Woolwich Crown Court heard information that West was conducting reconnaissance at the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich before stealing the map," the material said.

Prosecution lawyer Damian Warburton said the full satin cost about £50,000 ($67,000) and the stolen card cost £6,000 on the black market. The cost of the atlas has since dropped to £20,000 due to the lack of a page. Mr Warburton said "cultural losses outweigh financial ones.".

Police were called to the museum after staff found a knife on the floor in the viewing room where West was studying the satin. They found out that the map was extracted with a blade.