John Herschel discovered NGC 7 = h4014 on 27 Sep 1834 and logged "vF, pL, vmE, gvlbM, 2' long." The next night he observed the galaxy again and noted "vF, mE, vgvlbM." On a third sweep he called it "eeF, L, mE, requires the utmost attention to perceive though the sky is perfectly pure." His position matches ESO 409-022 = PGC 627. Surprisingly Pietro Baracchi searched for it unsuccessfully twice in 1887 with the 48" Melbourne telescope.
400/500mm - 17.5" (8/20/88): extremely faint, moderately large, edge-on 4:1 SW-NE. Requires averted vision due to low surface brightness and low elevation.
Notes by Steve Gottlieb