Herbert Howe discovered IC 1696 = Ho III-3 on 19 Jan 1900 at the Chamberlin Observatory in Denver and recorded "eF, eS; [NGC] 530 is n.p." His position is accurate.

400/500mm - 17.5" (9/19/87): faint, very small, irregularly round, small bright core. A mag 14 star is 34" NW of center. Located 3' SE of NGC 530 in AGC 194.

600/800mm - 24" (11/7/18): at 375x; fairly faint, fairly small, round, high surface brightness, very small brighter nucleus. A mag 14.4 star is off the NW edge. Located 3.3' SE of NGC 530.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb