NEN Gallery

Travel diary of John Lee, Sweden, 1808-1809. John Fiott (later Lee) (1783-1866) was a traveller, astronomer and antiquary who attended St John's College as a student. He travelled to Sweden in 1808-1809, during the Napoleonic wars, and made sketches of the landscapes and architecture he observed in his diary.

This is a self-portrait. The caption reads ‘The Hero! Fiott quitting the Swedish Army’. The army can be seen manoeuvring in the background. In 1808 Sweden was at war with Russia, then allied with the French Empire. Sweden lost the war in 1809 and was divided into two parts separated by the Gulf of Bothnia. The eastern part became the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland.