James Dunlop discovered NGC 1856 = D 118 = h2784 on 24 Sep 1826 and described "a pretty well-defined small nebula, with a small star south of it." His position is 6' ENE of NGC 1856 and the position of the nearby star clinches the identification. JH missed the possible earlier observation by Dunlop and independently swept up the cluster on 3 Nov 1834, logging it as "B, R, gbM, 12 seconds diameter in RA in time. Has a bright star to south." On a second sweep he noted "B, pL, R, gbM, 1.5'." Robert Innes, observing with the 26.5-inch Union Observatory refractor in 1926, described a "cluster, 90" diameter, bM, stars 14th mag and fainter."

400/500mm - 18" (7/10/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 128x, this LMC rich cluster appeared bright, moderately large, 1.5' diameter. Well concentrated with a very bright 30" core similar to a globular cluster. Located 2' N of mag 9.4 HD 34144 and 23' SSE of NGC 1850.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb