Lewis Swift discovered NGC 6696 = Sw. II-70 on 17 June 1884 and recorded "eeeF; in(?) vacancy pL; sev B st f and p it, e diff." There is nothing close to his position but 1.0 minute of RA west and 3' south is PGC 62215. There are several mag 9-10 stars in his wide field "f and p". Herbert Howe measured an accurate position and noted "The NGC place is 1m out in right ascension and 2' in declination. The nebula is elongated north and south and is a difficult object." MCG does not label this galaxy NGC 6696. Due to the faintness of this galaxy, I'm skeptical it was seen by Swift.

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/25/95): extremely faint, very small, elongated 3:2 N-S, very low surface brightness. Not seen initially but once the position was determined using a finder chart, the galaxy was visible about 75% of time with averted vision and concentration. Located 2.1' N of a mag 13 star.

17.5" (6/24/95): extremely faint and small, round (elongated N-S on the POSS), requires averted vision. Forms a right angle with a mag 13 star 2.1' S and a mag 14.5 star 1.3' E.

600/800mm - 24" (9/6/18): at 225x; faint, fairly small, very elongated 5:2 N-S, low even surface brightness. I could hold this galaxy continuously using averted vision, though it was quite faint. Surrounded a several mag 12.5-14 stars. Located 13' SSE of mag 6.9 HD 172957.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb