James Dunlop probably discovered NGC 419 = D 38 (and possibly D 39 and/or D 44) = h2387 on 2 Sep 1826 with his 9" reflector at Parramatta, and recorded (for D 38) a "very small oval nebula, a little brighter in the centre; a star of the 8th magnitude south." Dunlop claimed two observations of D38, two of D39 and one of D44. His position for D 38 is 7.8' SSE and for D 44 16' NE (Glen Cozens found a typo in the RA) of this SMC cluster. John Herschel reported 4 observations in his Cape catalogue, first recording the cluster on 11 Apr 1834 as "pB; pL; R; 2'. Has two stars near". His position and description is very accurate. Herschel gave a possible equivalence with D 36, though that entry more likely applies to NGC 376.

400/500mm - 18" (7/10/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): quite bright, fairly large, round, 1.8' diameter, moderately concentrated, granular but no resolution. Appears like an unresolved globular cluster with a very symmetrical appearance although classified as a rich open cluster. Located 9' NW of mag 7 HD 7187 and 7.5' N of mag 9 HD 6997.

600/800mm - 30" (11/6/10 - Coonabarabran, 264x): very bright, large, impressive, large bright core, fainter halo, 2' diameter. Mottled and lively but not resolved. A mag 9 star lies 8' S and a mag 7 star lies 9' SE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb