William Herschel discovered NGC 5355 = H III-699 = h1702 on 14 Jan 1788 (sweep 799) and noted "vF; S; iF." His position is 3' too far north. JH made three observations and assumed it was new, probably due to his father's poor position. He logged "F; The last of 4. There is a *9 preceding the group." and "vF; L; the last of 4." JH later equated h1702 and III. 699 in the GC.

300/350mm - 13.1" (5/26/84): faint, small, slightly elongated SSW-NNE, even surface brightness. Member of the NGC 5353 group = HCG 68 and located 7' due east of mag 6.5 HD 121197. Nearby members are NGC 5350 4.9' WNW, NGC 5358 4.7' SE and NGC 5353 4.8' SW.

600/800mm - 24" (7/1/16): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated N-S, ~35"x25", very small bright core, stellar nucleus. Situated 4' NE of NGC 5354 in HCG 68.

24" (6/8/13): moderately bright, relatively small compared to the other members of HCG 68, oval 3:2 SSW-NNE, ~40"x28", small brighter nucleus. Located 4' NE of NGC 5354 and 4.8' ESE of NGC 5350.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb