John Herschel discovered NGC 5261 = h1657 on 17 Apr 1830 and recorded "vF; R; among some pB stars."
400/500mm - 17.5" (4/28/90): very faint, very small, round, faint stellar nucleus. Located 4' ENE of a mag 9.5 star. A curving arc of four equally spaced mag 12-13.5 stars follows.
Notes by Steve Gottlieb