A set of nine mahogany lantern slides, with handles and gearing, contained in a box made of stained brown wood with metal fittings. They are labelled 1 to 9, though number 2 is missing, and another, not of the set and slightly wider than the rest, has been substituted. Each slide is rotated by a handle of brass and wood to demonstrate the movements of the earth and planets, some with complex systems. Each slide, except the odd one, has been stamped with a number and corresponding printed paper labels, some of which have manuscript notes that appear to indicate how the slides were used by one lecturer. Subjects include the solar system, tides, planetary and lunar motion, comets, eclipses and a transit of Venus.

Standard sets of slides of this kind, showing 'Astronomical Diagrams', were made by both Carpenter and Westley and Newton and Co. from about the late 1830s, accompanied by lecture outlines. This set appears to conform to the Newton and Co. set of the 1850s.