William Herschel discovered NGC 4168 = H II-105 = h1119 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and noted "pS but pB, roundish, resolvable, containing some stars visible." Caroline's reduction is 4.7' southeast of UGC 7203. John Herschel called this galaxy "B; R; psbM; irreg fig; r" and measured an accurate position. Both Herschels missed nearby NGC 4165, which was discovered by d'Arrest.

In the IC 2 Notes section, Dreyer mentioned "not found by Frost on plates of 4 hr exposure", although this bright galaxy was included in Adelaide Ames 1930 "A Catalogue of 2778 Nebulae, including the Coma-Virgo Group", based on plates taken with the Bruce astrograph at Arequipa.

400/500mm - 17.5" (1/23/88): brightest of a trio with NGC 4164 2.9' W and NGC 4165 2.6' NW. Fairly bright, moderately large, bright core, slightly elongated, stellar nucleus.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb