This achromatic telescope has a tapering mahogany barrel with brass fittings, including a single draw tube, an objective lens cap and a pivoted eyepiece cover. It is typical of the sort of telescope used on board ship in the 19th century.

The maker's name is inscribed on the draw tube as 'Berge London / late Ramsden'. This refers to Matthew Berge (died 1819), who worked for the famous London instrument maker, Jesse Ramsden (1735-1800), and took over the firm after Ramsden's death. The draw tube and its assembly also have the numerals ‘VI’ roughly inscribed on them, probably as part of the manufacturing and assembly process.