This Galilean telescope was made as a fashionable accessory rather than as an instrument for scientific use. It has two brass draw tubes and the barrel is inlaid with gilt rings. The original case, which is covered in black sharkskin, also survives.

The maker's name is inscribed on the smaller draw tube as ‘Adams / London’. Various members of the Adams family, notable George Adams Senior (1709-72) and his sons George (1750-95) and Dudley (1762-1830), were active as instrument makers in London from 1738 onwards. This telescope was made while George Adams the younger was in charge of the business, having inherited it from his father.