The red sweater looks like it was bought yesterday – but it's been more than 200 years since the handmade gift saw the light of day.
Archivists opened packages from the cargo ship Anne-Marie, which was seized by the British Navy during the Second Battle of Copenhagen, at the National Archives in the United Kingdom on Thursday. Along with the sweater, archivists opened packages containing fabric samples, stockings, silver coins and other items from the beleaguered ship.
Sarah Noble, the senior conservation manager for imaging at the National Archives of the United Kingdom, holds a bundle of paper rixdollars that were wrapped around 18 silver coins, including Danish coins from the reign of Frederick III. of Denmark in 1648 -1670, which was found in a parcel in a 19th century postbox when it was first opened at the National Archives in Kew, London. Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images
But none were as unique as the surviving sweater, archivists said. “This is a rare example of a package preserved in the prize papers, which often contain letters sent to ships for delivery by sea,” Dr. Amanda Bevan from the National Archives.
The fine hand-knit sweater was shipped from the Faroe Islands by a carpenter named Niels C. Winther, a statement from the National Archives said. Attached to the letter was a letter from Winther to Mr. P. Ladsen's fiancée in Copenhagen, which said: “My wife sends her regards, thank you very much for the pudding rice.” She is sending this sweater to her fiancée and hopes that it doesn't come to her displeases.' The letter was written in Danish.
Sarah Noble, the senior conservation manager for imaging at the National Archives of the United Kingdom, holds a 200-year-old sweater made from traditional Faroese knit, found in a package amid a stack of 19th-century letters when it was opened for for the first time in the National Archives in Kew, London. Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images
The cargo ship had been sailing from the Faroe Islands through Denmark when it was attacked by HMS Defense off the coast of Norway on September 2, 1807, and both the ship's cargo and mailbox were confiscated, the statement said. Archivists said they plan to digitize the letters and the contents of the packages.
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Recently, various cargoes have been recovered from shipwrecks. Last month, divers exploring the wreck of Britain's HMS Erebus off the coast of Canada discovered a number of “fascinating artifacts” including pistols, coins and an intact thermometer.
Last year, divers discovered a Dutch warship off the coast of southern England. The ship was carrying a cargo of marble tiles for the construction of high-quality houses.
Reporting by Stephen Smith.
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