The quintant has a polished chrome-coated bronze frame with a protective cover over the mounts. The tangent screw, working against a spring-loaded stop, and the clamping screw are located on the back of the index arm. The instrument has no shades. Index-glass adjustment is made by a screw and the horizon-glass is non-adjustable. There is no telescope but a sighting arrow is inscribed on the frame. A compass, with a diameter of 38 mm, is mounted at the centre of the frame, graduated between one and three. The quintant is fitted with an edge bar needle with a jewelled pivot cap, and a needle locking mechanism operated by a milled knob on the back of the frame. The instrument is contained in a red velvet-lined leather carrying case with the strap missing. There is a stamp in the lid for ‘Instruments de Précision Nivellement Géodésie Henri [illegible] Paris’.

The instrument has a chrome scale from -4° to 152° by 1°, measuring to 149°. Vernier 0-100 grads.

The maker may have been Henri Morin, who worked in Paris from 1880; nothing has been found on Coutureau. Following the metric system, the scale division of 400 grads to a circle instead of 360 degrees was introduced in France shortly after the French Revolution. Most theodolites and similar instruments from European countries are still graduated in this way.