Herbert Howe discovered IC 1853 = Ho III-8 on 23 Jan 1900 and recorded "eF, vS, near [NGC] 1103." His position is accurate.
400/500mm - 17.5" (12/28/94): extremely faint, very small. Just glimpsed 2.0' SSW of NGC 1103. Too faint to view any additional details.
Notes by Steve Gottlieb