This achromatic telescope is typical of the type used on board ship in the mid-19th century for general observations. It has a tapered leather-covered barrel and a single silvered-brass draw tube. The other silvered-brass fittings include a sliding eyepiece cover, an objective lens cap and an extending sunshade. The maker's name is inscribed on the draw tube as 'Mills Maker / 49 Southampton St. / Pentonville / London / Improved Navy'.

Apparently, the telescope was rescued form HMS ‘Bombay’ in 1864 and was once the property of James Samuel Watts, who served in the Royal Navy until 1890 and died in 1908.