Lewis Swift discovered IC 1788 = Sw. XI-36 on 25 Dec 1897 and logged "pF; pS; R; distant D * nf." In this earlier third discovery list from Lowe Observatory he gave the discovery date as 5 Sep 1897 (apparently correct as the list is date 12 Sep 1897)and called it "pretty bright".

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/28/94): moderately bright, fairly large, nearly edge-on 4:1 SSW-NNE, 2.5'x0.6', broad concentration. A mag 14 star is just west of the SSW end 1.6' from the center. A wide pair of mag 10-11 stars at 36" separation lies 10' SSE. Relatively bright for an IC galaxy.

17.5" (10/29/94): fairly faint, moderately large, very elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE, 2.1'x0.7', broad concentration. A mag 14 star is just preceding the SSW tip.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb