The wooden barrel of this Galilean telescope is covered in dyed rayskin (shagreen), while the single draw tube is made of brass. A thumbwheel on the eyepiece allows the viewer to select one of four lenses of different magnifying powers. The lenses are numbered from 1 to 4 and there are numbered stop lines on the draw tube, indicating the optimum length corresponding to each of these lenses. The screw-on cap for the objective lens is missing.

The maker's name appears on the draw tube as 'Dollond / London'. This was the firm established by Peter Dollond (1731–1820).