William Herschel discovered NGC 4642 = H III-494 on 1 Jan 1786 (sweep 507) and noted "eF, vS." CH's reduction is 1' south of UGC 7893.

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/28/87): fairly faint, elongated SSW-NNE, fairly small. A mag 15 star is involved at the NE end. Forms a pair with NGC 4653 10' NE near the edge of the 220x field.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb