This small brass telescope is a reflecting telescope that uses a curved mirror rather than an objective lens to collect light and produce the observed image. The original sharkskin case also survives.

Reflecting telescopes were primarily used for astronomical observation. The design was first proposed by James Gregory (1638-75) in 1663 and Isaac Newton (1643-1727) created a working example in 1668. But it was not until the following century that James Short (1710-68) perfected the technique of grinding the mirrors required. He subsequently became the most successful London manufacturer of Gregorian telescopes, which were named after their original inventor.