Ormond Stone discovered NGC 1216 = LM 1-96 in 1886, along with NGC 1214 and 1215, with the 26" refractor at Leander McCormick Observatory. He recorded "mag 14.5, 0.2' dia, stellar ncl, 3rd of 3" and the rough position matches MCG -02-08-056 = PGC 11693. This galaxy was missed by Lewis Swift, though he found nearby NGC 1214 and 1215.

400/500mm - 17.5" (10/20/90): very faint, extremely small, stellar nucleus or faint star superimposed, extremely faint and very small extensions SW-NE. Member of HCG 23 with NGC 1215 2' NW.

600/800mm - 24" (12/6/18): at 375x; between fairly faint and moderately bright, 4:1 or 5:1 WSW-ENE,

~36"x8", surprisingly high surface brightness. The listed V magnitude of 14.8 seems too faint based on its appearance. Similar in surface brightness to NGC 1214.

900/1200mm - 48" (10/30/16): at 375x and 488x; fairly bright, fairly small, edge-on 5:1 WSW-ENE, ~40"x8", well concentrated with a very bright, high surface brightness core that increases to a stellar nucleus. The extensions are quite thin. NGC 1215 lies 2.5' NW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb