John Herschel discovered NGC 4380 = h1241 on 10 Mar 1826 and logged "vF; pL; R; lbM." In the IC 2 Notes section, Dreyer mentions that Frost was unable to identify this galaxy on a Harvard plate of 4 hours exposure, although it was included in Adelaide Ames' 1930 "A Catalogue of 2778 Nebulae, including the Coma-Virgo Group", based on plates taken with the Bruce astrograph at Arequipa.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, fairly large, fairly diffuse but gradually increases to a very small brighter core. A mag 14 star is off the south end 2.4' from center.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb