William Herschel discovered NGC 881 = H II-436 = h211, along with NGC 883, on 10 Sep 1785 (sweep 436) and reported "F, pS, lE, south of 2 or 3 unequal stars." The RNGC position is 3' too far north.

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/4/93): fairly faint, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 1.4'x1.0', broadly brighter middle but no distinct core. A mag 12 star is 1.4' NNE. Located 5.3' ESE of mag 8 SAO 129814. NGC 883 lies 11' SSE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb