Lewis Swift discovered IC 1261 = Sw. VIII-93 on 8 Sep 1888 and recorded "eeF; pS; R; in a dark vacancy." His position is unusually accurate for observations near the end of his observing career, but the description could apply to either galaxy (or both).

600/800mm - 24" (6/28/16): IC 1261 is a close pair of small ellipticals separated by 27" E-W. At 375x the brighter eastern component appeared fairly faint, very small, round, 15" diameter. The halo is just resolved from the western component, which appeared faint, very small, round. A mag 15 star is 0.7' S. NGC 6395 lies 18' SE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb