William Herschel discovered NGC 1857 = H VII-33 = h350 on 18 Sep 1786 (sweep 619). He described "a cluster of pretty compressed pS stars, considerably rich, contains one large star, the rest are all of a size." His position is accurate. On 3 Feb 1832 (sweep 399), John Herschel recorded, "a *7m, very ruddy, almost orange-coloured, in a p rich cl of very small stars." Wolfgang Steinicke reports that WH discovered it earlier on 30 Sep 1780 (before his sweeps started), while surveying the brighter stars with his 6.2-inch reflector.

300/350mm - 13.1" (1/18/85): 50-60 stars resolved surrounding mag 7.5 SAO 57903 near the center. This is a very pleasing cluster and is rich in faint mag 13/14 stars.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb