William Herschel discovered NGC 7296 = H VII-41 on 14 Oct 1787 (sweep 765) and noted "a small cluster of stars, not very rich; like a forming one." His RA was 40 seconds too large.

200/250mm - 8" (11/8/80): 15 stars extended N-S between two mag 8 and 9 stars. Appears faint and small with an unresolved background haze.

400/500mm - 17.5" (10/5/91): compact group of roughly 30 stars in a 3'x2' area elongated N-S. A mag 9 star is at the NW edge. Most stars are arranged in a curved arc roughly N-S. A string of four perfectly collinear stars trail from this arc to the NE. Not particularly distinctive as located in a rich star field. Contains about ten faint stars mag 14-14.5. Located 40' E of Beta Lacertae (V = 4.4).

Notes by Steve Gottlieb