Portable horizontal dial and aide-mémoire made for latitude 53° North. The dial comprises a silver mounted notebook with a mirror and horizontal sundial (the gnomon is missing). The front cover has an oval vignette of a soldier's bust, and a lock for a silver-gilt fleur-de-lys shaped clasp. The back cover has an empty central oval. The inside front cover contains a mirror surrounded by floral decoration. The end page has a silver-gilt oval vignette of Justice (IVSTITIA), shown with the traditional emblems of a sword and a balance, surrounded by floral decoration. There are then 14 gilt-edged pages (not counting the end papers). One has the word 'Molly' written in pencil.

The final end page has a silver-gilt oval vignette of Faith (FIDES), shown with traditional emblems of a cross, chalice and a host, and is surrounded by foliate decoration. The inside back cover has a silver-gilt circular horizontal dial with hours depicted on a scroll. There is a compass with a line marking the magnetic variation at 7° East of North. Also on the inside back cover are two oval vignettes of hatted or helmeted gentlemen, half-profile.

The style of this dial suggests an origin in the South of Europe, but it may well have been made for a customer from Northern Europe, since the calculated latitude is higher than that of France or Italy. There are several examples of dials in notebooks. The Whipple Museum's collection includes an aide-memoire with decorative motifs on the covers incorporating mermaids (accession no. Wh: 1728).

For more information regarding this dial please refer to the OUP & NMM catalogue, 'Sundials at Greenwich'.