Lewis Swift discovered IC 53 = Sw. X-3 on 25 Sep 1890 and recorded "eeeF pS; R; B * in field south. Others suspected." His position is about 3' too far northwest, but there are no other nearby galaxies and the description fits (a mag 8.5 star is 11' S).

600/800mm - 24" (9/8/18): at 375x; faint to fairly faint, fairly small. The galaxy initially appeared elongated 4:3 or 3:2 E-W, ~30"x20" and brighter along the major axis, but then I realized there was a faint star [mag 15.7] at the western end of the galaxy that enhanced the elongation. IC 53 is located 21' W of STF 67, an excellent 9.0/9.6 pair at 2.3" that was easily resolved with plenty of black space between.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb