John Herschel discovered NGC 424 = h2389 on 30 Nov 1837 and logged "vF, S, R, glbM, 18 arcsec." His position matches ESO 296-004 = PGC 4274.
400/500mm - 17.5" (10/4/97): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, 1.2'x0.6', brighter core. NGC 438 lies 27' NE.
Notes by Steve Gottlieb