In 1807, the British Navy seized a ship, imprisoned its crew and took its cargo. The archivist has just opened the packages.

The red sweater looks as if it was bought yesterday – but it's been more than 200 years since the handcrafted gift was brought to light.

Archives staff opened parcels from the freighter Anne Marie, which was captured by the British Navy during the Second Battle of Copenhagen, on Thursday at the UK's National Archives. Besides the jacket, archivists opened parcels containing fabric samples, stockings, silver coins and other items from the beleaguered ship.

But none were as unique as the surviving jacket, archivists said. “This is a rare example of a surviving parcel in prize papers, which often contain letters sent to ships for delivery by sea,” said Dr. Amanda Bevan of the National Archives. . Archives.

The hand-woven sweater was shipped from the Faroe Islands by a carpenter named Nils C. Winther, Statement from the National Archives He said. It was accompanied by a letter from Winter to Mr. P. Ladsen's fiancé in Copenhagen saying: “My wife sends her regards, thank you for the rice pudding.” You send your fiancée this jacket and hope it doesn't bother her. The letter was written in Danish.

The cargo ship had sailed from the Faroe Islands via Denmark when it was targeted by HMS Defense off the coast of Norway on September 2, 1807, and the cargo and ship's mailbox were seized, the statement said. The archivists said they plan to digitize the letters and contents of the parcels.

Various cargoes have recently been recovered from shipwrecks. Last month, divers explored the wreck of the British ship HMS Erebus off the coast of Canada Discover A collection of “exquisite antiques”, including pistols, coins and an intact thermometer.

Last year, divers Discover A Dutch warship off the coast of southern England. The ship was carrying a cargo of marble tiles for use in building high-class homes.

Reporting contributed by Stephen Smith.