William Herschel discovered NGC 4238 = H III-851 = h1164 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and logged "eF, S, iF." His position is 3.6' too far north. JH recorded "vF; not vS; R; vglbM; 15"-20"." and measured an accurate position.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/15/93): very faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE, 1.5'x0.5', low even surface brightness, no central concentration.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb