Lewis Swift found IC 1963 = Sw. XI-56 on 7 Sep 1897 (given as 27 Sep in his fourth discovery list from Lowe Observatory) and logged "pB; S; eeeE; a hair line 90°. See note." The note mentions "these [along with IC 2135] are the most interesting nebulae I have ever seen, especially No. 56 [IC 1963], which is a nebulous hair-line of one uniform size from end to end." His second position was 37 seconds of RA too far west, but the description matches IC 335, which Swift discovered 10 years earlier.

400/500mm - 18" (1/21/04): fairly faint, moderately large, very elongated ~E-W, 1.5'x0.4', slightly brighter core, tapering extensions (spindle-shaped). Located 7.5' E of a mag 11.5 star. This is one of the brighter non-NGC galaxies in the Fornax I cluster.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb