John Herschel discovered NGC 440 = h2396 on 27 Sep 1834 and logged "F, S, R, 15" dia." His position (typo corrected at the end of the Cape of Good Hope catalog) matches ESO 113-25 = PGC 4361.

600/800mm - 25" (10/15/17 - OzSky): at 397x; moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, 0.6'x0.3', well concentrated with a very small bright core and much fainter extensions. Second brightest in a trio (KTS 8) with NGC 434 5' NW and NGC 434A 5' NW. A mag 11.8 star is 2.3' WNW, midway to NGC 434 and a mag 10.8 star is 2.8' SE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb