Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1250 (Swift list V (#53), 1860 RA 03 06 12, NPD 49 10.6) is "very faint, very small, round".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 2.8 by 0.56 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1251 (= GC 5060, S. Coolidge (#4, HN24), 1860 RA 03 06 55, NPD 89 04.5) is "faint". The position precesses to RA 03 14 08.1, Dec +01 27 02, but there is nothing there save for a faint pair of stars just to the northeast. There has never been any doubt that this is what Coolidge saw, as he has the unfortunate distinction of being the only NGC observer for whom every object reported was merely a star or pair of stars. However, this is perhaps not due to any lack of ability on his part, but to the poor quality of the equipment he used, as all the Harvard Observatory observers had a relatively high percentage of such "discoveries".

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1252 (= GC 663 = JH 2515, 1860 RA 03 07 07, NPD 148 40.3) is a "cluster of 18 or 20 stars". The position precesses to RA 03 10 34.0, Dec -58 08 31, but there is nothing there. However, per Corwin, there is a relatively compelling identification with a group of stars 20 arcmin to the north, as Herschel's original description "star 8th magnitude, the chief of a cluster of 18 to 20 stars" fits the group well, with the position falling dead center on a 7th-magnitude star if it is assumed that there was a transcription error of exactly 20 arcmin in the NPD. (Although a reasonable identification, it cannot be considered certain, and several references therefore note the uncertainty of the identification.)
Physical Information: Apparent size 10 by 8 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1253 (= GC 664 = WH IV 17, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 07 07, NPD 93 20.3) is "a 12th magnitude star with nebulosity to east, 90 arcsec long".
Physical Information: Apparent size 5.3 by 2.3 arcmin?

Physical Information: Apparent size 1.3 by 0.8 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1254 (= GC 5301, Marth #89, 1860 RA 03 07 07, NPD 87 51) is "faint, very small, stellar".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.9 by 0.8 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1255 (Barnard (b), Ormond Stone list I (#??), 1860 RA 03 07 31, NPD 116 17.6) is "faint, pretty large, faint star close to west".
Physical Information: Apparent size 4.2 by 2.7 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1256 (= GC 665 = JH 2516, 1860 RA 03 07 47, NPD 112 30.8) is "faint, small, extended, almost stellar, 8th magnitude star to northwest".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.4 by 0.6 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1257 (Bigourdan (list I #16), 1860 RA 03 07 51, NPD 48 59.4), is a "stellar nebula". The position precesses to RA 03 17 03.5, Dec +41 31 50, but there is nothing there; not that that is a surprise, as given its description Bigourdan's object was as likely to be some kind of stellar object as a nebula. Per Corwin that is almost certainly the case, with the double star an arcmin to the southwest of Bigourdan's position being the most likely candidate due to the stars on either side of it (Bigourdan's original paper notes a pair of stars flanking his I-16), so the identification listed above seems reasonably certain. It also seems quite possible that the fainter stars surrounding the stars in question might have given them the impression of a "stellar nebula". Other efforts to identify NGC 1257 have centered on a galaxy (PGC 12157) about 2/3 of a minute of time to the west of Bigourdan's position, and although that identification is probably incorrect, it seems appropriate to discuss that object immediately below.

Historical Misidentification:
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 4745 km/sec, PGC 12157 is about 220 million light-years away. Given that and its apparent size 1.6 by 0.25 arcmin, it is about 100 thousand light-years across.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1258 (Leavenworth list II (#364), 1860 RA 03 08 04, NPD 112 18.8) is "extremely faint, pretty small, very little extended, 12 arcmin north of h 2516", (JH) 2516 being NGC 1256.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.35 by 0.95 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1259 (Bigourdan (list I #17), 1860 RA 08 05, NPD 49 07.8) is "very faint, small, round, very little brighter middle".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.7 by 0.7 arcmin (from the images below). (member of Perseus Cluster). Some databases misidentify NGC 1259 as Arp 310; Arp 310 is actually IC 1259, hence the disclaimer shown above.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1260 (Bigourdan (list I #18), 1860 RA 03 08 16, NPD 49 06.7) is "very faint, small, round".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.35 by 0.7 arcmin (from the images below). (member of Perseus Cluster)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1261 (= GC 666 = JH 2517, Dunlop 337, 1860 RA 03 08 26, NPD 145 44.8) is "a globular cluster, bright, large, round, partially resolved (some stars seen)." The position precesses to RA 03 12 15.4, Dec -55 13 15, barely south of the center of the cluster listed above and well within its outline, the description fits and there is nothing else nearby, so the identification is certain.
Note About PGC Designation: For purposes of completeness, LEDA assigns a PGC designation to almost all NGC/IC objects, regardless of their nature; but in this case a search of the database for that designation returns no result, so it is placed in quotes.
Physical Information: Like many other globular clusters, NGC 1261 has a moderately eccentric orbit which takes it far from the galaxy most of the time, but within a kiloparsec or so of its center at times, causing its orbit to change its orientation each time it passes through the nucleus of our galaxy. It is thought to be relatively young for a globular cluster (about 11.2 billion years old), whereas some globulars are as much as 13 billion years old (and almost all of them are well over 10 billion years old), and thanks to the many passages through the central part of the galaxy's nucleus since its formation, must have lost a substantial part of its original mass due to gravitational interactions with stars in the nucleus. It is currently about 54,000 light-years from the Sun (give or take a thousand light-years), and between that and its apparent size of just over 7 arcmin (a bit larger for the faintest stars in the cluster, a bit smaller for its obvious size), it must be about 115 light-years in diameter.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1262 (Leavenworth list I (#99), 1860 RA 03 08 35, NPD 106 24.8) is "extremely faint, pretty small, irregularly round, suddenly brighter middle and nucleus". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 03 09 04. The corrected position precesses to RA 03 15 33.9, Dec -15 53 33, less than an arcmin south of the galaxy, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 24975 km/sec, a straightforward calculation indicates that NGC 1262 is about 1165 million light-years away. However, for objects at such distances we should take into account the Universal expansion during the time it took their light to reach us. Doing that shows that the galaxy was about 1055 million light-years away at the time the light by which we see it was emitted, about 1100 million years ago (the difference between the two numbers being due to the expansion of the intervening space during the light-travel time). Given that and its apparent size of about 1.05 by 0.95 arcmin, the galaxy is about 320 thousand light-years across. (Note: A second radial velocity measurement in excess of 30000 km/sec would place the galaxy about 20% further away, and make it about 20% larger.)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1263 (Leavenworth list I (#100), 1860 RA 03 08 35, NPD 105 37.8) is "very faint, small, a little extended, suddenly brighter middle". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 03 09 08. The corrected position precesses to RA 03 15 40.0, Dec -15 06 34, only 2/3 of an arcmin south of the galaxy, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.9 by 0.8 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1264 (Bigourdan (list I #19), 1860 RA 03 08 47, NPD 48 59.5) is "very faint, small, very little brighter middle". The position precesses to RA 03 17 59.9, Dec +41 31 35, right on the galaxy, so the identification is certain. Despite that, a careless error has led to PGC 12254, which is 5 arcmin south-southwest, being incorrectly identified as NGC 1264 in some places; so that galaxy is discussed immediately below.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.0 by 1.0 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies.) Corwin lists a companion at RA 03 17 57.6, Dec +41 29 51.

Historical Misidentification:
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.75 by 0.6 arcmin (from the images below). (Probably part of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies.)

Historical Misidentification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1265 (Bigourdan (list I #20), 1860 RA 03 08 56, NPD 48 37.9) is "very faint, very small, much brighter middle". The position precesses to RA 03 18 10.6, Dec +41 53 09, about 1.9 arcmin northwest of PGC 12287, and there is nothing comparable nearby, so that object was incorrectly assumed to be NGC 1265 until February 2017, when Steve Gottlieb wondered whether PGC 12279, which lies about 8 arcmin to the south, was a better candidate for what Bigourdan observed (based on his own visual observations of the region in late January). Harold Corwin subsequently referred to Bigourdan's original observations and showed that Gottlieb was correct (as described below), hence the corrected title (and warning) for this entry.
Corrected Identification Notes: Bigourdan made two measurements of his list I #20, with an average position 14.05s east and 1' 04.2" north of an "Anonyme" 9th magnitude star at (1900) RA 03 11 20, Dec +41 30, which he measured as being 5m 30s east and 23.2 arcmin north of BD +40 687 (= 9th magnitude HD 19770, at (2000) RA 03 12 21.8, Dec +41 29 35 = (1900) RA 03 05 48.2, Dec +41 06 55.1). That puts his "Anonyme" star at (1900) RA 03 11 18.2, Dec +41 30 07.1 = (2000) RA 03 17 54.9, Dec +41 52 11, but there is nothing there nor near there! In other words, Bigourdan's offset from the BD star to the reference star must be wrong, and NGC 1265 cannot be PGC 12287, since there is no reference star that could be used to justify that identification.
 However, Corwin notes that if Bigourdan made an 8 arcmin error in the declination offset of the anonymous star (namely, if it was 15.2 arcmin north of the BD star instead of 23.2), its position would be (1900) RA 03 11 18.2, Dec +41 22 07.1 = (2000) RA 03 17 54.5, Dec +41 44 11, which falls dead-center on 11th magnitude HD 275043. Using that star as Bigourdan's "Anonyme" yields a position for his nebula of (1900) RA 03 11 32.25, Dec +41 23 11.3 = (2000) RA 03 18 08.7, Dec +41 45 14, which is on the southern rim of PGC 12287 (= IC 312), the object suggested by Gottlieb as the actual NGC 1265. In other words, although an 8 arcmin error in Bigourdan's offset from the BD star to the reference star would be unusual, it yields a precise position for a reasonable "Anonyme", and a nearly perfect position for I-20. So it is absolutely certain that Bigourdan did not observe PGC 12287, and essentially certain that he actually observed PGC 12279 and NGC 1265 is a prior discovery of what became IC 312 (which see for its discovery notes).
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 4980 km/sec, PGC 12279 is about 230 million light-years away (using H = 70 km/sec/Mpc), in good agreement with redshift-independent distance estimates of about 225 to 230 million light-years. Given that and its apparent size of about 1.05 by 0.5 arcmin (from the images below), it is about 70 thousand light-years across.

Historical Misidentification: As noted in the entry for NGC 1265, that was long misidentified as PGC 12287; but there is no star at the position of Bigourdan's reference star, so his (and the NGC) position for NGC 1265 was incorrect, and PGC 12287 cannot be the NGC object. However, because that was not recognized until February 2017, odds are that 3C 83.1B = PGC 12287, which was incorrectly thought to be NGC 1265 for more than a century, will probably be misidentified as that object for a very long time to come, hence the warning here about that misidentification.
Discovery Notes: Corwin notes that since Bigourdan did not discover PGC 12287, it would be nice to know who was the first to observe it. The earliest observation of NGC 1265 that he was aware of (as of Feb 25, 2017) was by Wolf and Kaiser, hence the note above.
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 7535 km/sec, a straightforward calculation (using H = 70 km/sec/Mpc) indicates that PGC 12287 is about 350 million light-years away. However, for objects at such distances we should take into account the expansion of the Universe during the time it took their light to reach us. Doing that shows that the galaxy was about 340 million light-years away at the time the light by which we see it was emitted, about 345 million years ago (the difference between the two numbers being due to the expansion of the intervening space during the light-travel time). Given that and its apparent size of 1.8 by 1.5 arcmin (from the images below), the galaxy is about 175 to 180 thousand light-years across. The galaxy is a member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies. There happens to be a star of about the same brightness as the galaxy nearly superimposed on the nucleus, as indicated by the diffraction spikes in the closeup image; the magnitude listed here is an estimate for the galaxy alone.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1266 (= GC 667 = WH III 194, d'Arrest, 1860 03 08 57, NPD 92 56.5) is "very faint, pretty small, 13th magnitude star 2 arcmin to southwest." The position precesses to RA 03 16 00.8, Dec -02 25 17, within the northern outline of the galaxy listed above, the description is a perfect fit and there is nothing comparable nearby, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity relative to the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation of 1995 km/sec (and H₀ = 70 km/sec/Mpc), NGC 1266 is about 90 to 95 million light-years away (the HST/ALMA paper uses a distance of 100 million light-years). Given that and its apparent size of about 1.4 by 0.95 arcmin (from the images below), the galaxy is about 35 to 40 thousand light-years across.
 Observations with the Chilean Atacama Radio Millimeter Array (CARMA) show that quasi-stellar jets emanating from a black hole at the center of the galaxy are slamming into dense gases surrounding the core at a speed of about 400 km/sec, fast enough to create turbulence within the gas that prevents it from forming new stars, but not fast enough to blow the gas away from the core. The authors of the paper linked from the HST/ALMA images suggest that this is a temporary but presumably repeating process in which after a while the black hole settles down, allows the now-turbulent gas to form new stars, but in the process re-energizes the black hole, shutting off star formation again.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1267 (= GC 668, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 09 31, NPD 49 02.5) is "faint, very small, round, stellar".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.15 by 0.95 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.) (For now, see the wide-field image of NGC 1268.)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1268 (= GC 669, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 09 31, NPD 49 01.7) is "extremely faint, small, a little extended, cometic", the last word meaning having a cometary appearance.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.15 by 0.8 arcmin (from the images below) (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.) Possibly interacting with NGC 1267.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1269 (= GC 670 = JH 2518, (Dunlop 487?), 1860 RA 03 09 42, NPD 131 36.4) is "very bright, round, gradually much brighter middle". The second Index Catalog adds "Not found by Innes (1901, 7-inch refractor), but 1291 well seen. h (John Herschel) observed both the same night, once". The position precesses to RA 03 14 49.7, Dec -41 05 08, but there is nothing there, save for the aforementionedNGC 1291, which lies 2 1/2 minutes of time to the east, and as noted in IC2 was all that Innes could find in the region. Per Corwin, odds are that the missing NGC 1269 is a duplicate observation of NGC 1291, as Herschel's NPDs and descriptions for the two entries are identical, and Innes suggested that the two entries might be identical when he failed to find NGC 1269 (although Dreyer did not bother to report the supposition). So although it is possible that NGC 1269 is a lost or nonexistent object, it seems more likely that it is simply a duplicate of NGC 1291, as indicated above.
Physical Information: Given the probable identification as a duplicate of NGC 1291, see that entry for anything else.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1270 (= GC 671, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 09 46, NPD 49 01.9) is "very faint, small, round".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.15 by 0.9 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1271 (Bigourdan (list I #21), 1860 RA 03 09 59, NPD 49 09.9) is "very faint, very small".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.75 by 0.35 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1272 (= GC 672, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 10 09, NPD 49 01.6) is "faint, small, round". The position precesses to RA 03 19 22.4, Dec +41 29 17, right on the galaxy, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 2.2 by 2.05 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1273 (= GC 673, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 10 11, NPD 48 58.5) is "very faint, very small".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.9 by 0.8 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1274 (= GC 5302, 4th Lord Rosse, 1860 RA 03 10 28, NPD 48 58.0) is "very faint, very small".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.75 by 0.35 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1275 (= GC 675, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 10 35, NPD 49 00.3) is "faint, small". Per Corwin, Dreyer was confused by the numerous observations of nebulae in this region, and assigned the Herschels' observations to the entry for NGC 1278 (= GC 674 = JH 293 = WH II 603, 1860 RA 03 10 40, NPD 48 57.4), described as "pretty bright, pretty small, round, brighter middle". (More about that, including a translation of d'Arrest's observation, in the next iteration of this entry.)
Physical Information: NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies. A Seyfert galaxy (type Sy 1.5). It is actually two galaxies, a dusty spiral galaxy whose distorted arms are seen as dark filaments against the background of the massive elliptical galaxy with which it is colliding (and probably merging). Each galaxy is distorted by the gravity of the other one, and as clouds of gas in the galaxies collide or are compressed by the interaction, bursts of star formation occur. Among other things, the interaction produces intense radio radiation (probably from gas falling into a supermassive black hole near the center of the elliptical galaxy), hence the galaxies' designation as Perseus A (meaning the brightest radio source in Perseus). As emphasized by a false-color composite in the bottom image, the collision creates glowing filaments of gas which are kept from dissipating by strong magnetic fields extending from the core of the elliptical galaxy. Based on a recessional velocity of 5265 km/sec, NGC 1275 is about 245 million light-years away, in good agreement with redshift-independent distance estimates of 210 to 270 million light-years. Given that and an apparent size of 2.3 by 1.7 arcmin, the pair span 165 thousand light-years.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1276 (= GC 5303, Dreyer using Lord Rosse's 72-inch telescope, 1860 RA 03 10 37, NPD 48 52.5) is "very faint, very small". The position precesses to RA 03 19 51.3, Dec +41 38 18, less than a third of an arcmin south of the pair of stars noted above; and per Corwin, Dreyer's original measurements fall within a tenth of an arcmin or so from the pair, so the identification is certain.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1277 (= GC 5304 = GC 5305, 4th Lord Rosse, 1860 RA 03 10 38, NPD 48 56.5) is "very faint, very small, northwest of II 603", (WH) II 603 actually being NGC 1275, but misattributed by Dreyer to NGC 1278. (In other words, Herschel's observation was of NGC 1275, but Dreyer thought it was of NGC 1278, so in describing NGC 1277 as being northwest of NGC 1278, he used the incorrect identification as WH II 603.)
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.75 by 0.4 arcmin (from the image below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1278 (= GC 674 = JH 293 = WH II 603, (d'Arrest), 1860 03 10 40, NPD 48 57.4) is "pretty bright, pretty small, round, brighter middle". As noted in the entry for NGC 1275, Dreyer confused the Herschels' observation of NGC 1275 with the position of NGC 1278, so he put their observations with the wrong entry; however, the NGC position was based on d'Arrest's measurement (even though d'Arrest is not given credit for it in the NGC listing), and it is good. (More about this, including a translation of d'Arrest's observation, in the next iteration of this entry.) It precesses to RA 03 19 54.0, Dec +41 33 24, within the outline of the galaxy, so the identification is certain. (See IC 1907 for a discussion of the equality of the two listings.)
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.35 by 1.1 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1279 (= GC 5306, Dreyer using Lord Rosse's 72-inch telescope, 1860 RA 03 10 47, NPD 49 02.3) is "very faint, very small". The position precesses to RA 03 20 00.7, Dec +41 28 29, just outside the southwestern outline of the galaxy, so the identification is certain. (Despite that, some references misidentify PGC 12441 as NGC 1279, so that object is discussed immediately below.)
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.85 by 0.45 arcmin (from the image below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Misidentification:
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.4 by 0.4 arcmin (from the image below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1280 (Stephan list XII (#25), 1860 RA 03 10 48, NPD 90 41.2) is "very faint, very small, round, gradually brighter middle, mottled but not resolved".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.0 by 0.8 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1281 (= GC 5307, Dreyer using Lord Rosse's 72-inch telescope, 1860 RA 03 10 51, NPD 48 53.3) is "very faint, small, 11th magnitude star one arcmin to west".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.85 by 0.55 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies) (For now, see the wide-field image of NGC 1278.)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1282 (Bigourdan (list I #22), 1860 RA 03 11 00, NPD 49 09.2) is "very faint, small, a little brighter middle and nucleus".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.3 by 0.9 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1283 (Bigourdan (list I #23), 1860 RA 03 11 02, NPD 49 07.3) is "very faint, small, very little brighter middle".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.85 by 0.75 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1284 (= GC 676 = JH 2519 = WH III 956, 1860 RA 03 11 02, NPD 100 48.7) is "extremely faint, very small, 2 stars to south".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.4 by 1.0 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1285 (= GC 5308, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 11 05, NPD 97 48.6) is "pretty faint, small".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.6 by 1.1 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1286 (Swift list III (#25), 1860 RA 03 11 05, NPD 98 08.8) is "extremely faint, extremely small, round, 4 bright stars to south".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.85 by 0.7 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1287 (= GC 684 = WH III 195, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 11 32, NPD 93 14.9) is "very faint, very small, irregularly round".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.75 by 0.6 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1288 (= GC 683 = JH 2520, 1860 RA 03 11 34, NPD 123 05.7) is "very faint, large, round, very gradually a little brighter middle". The second Index Catalog adds "(per Swift) considerably extended north-south, (per DeLisle Stewart) 2 branch spiral". The position precesses to RA 03 17 13.7, Dec -32 34 56, right on the galaxy, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 3.0 by 2.4 arcmin (from the images below). Used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies as an example of galaxy type SAB(rs)bc.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1289 (Swift list IV (#13), 1860 RA 03 11 34, NPD 92 29.0) is "very faint, small, round, 4 stars following (to the east)". The position precesses to RA 03 18 38.8, Dec -01 58 10, about 2 1/2 arcmin to the west of the presumed object, and there are several reasonably bright stars to its east, so the identification is considered certain. (See IC 314 for a discussion of the double listing.)
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 2.0 by 1.1 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1290 (Ormond Stone list I (#101), 1860 RA 03 11 35, NPD 104 29.7) is "extremely faint, extremely small".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.5 by 0.4 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1291 (= GC 685 = JH 2521, Dunlop 487, 1860 RA 03 12 15, NPD 131 36.8) is a "globular cluster, very bright, pretty large, round, much brighter middle, extremely mottled but not resolved". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 03 12 50. Usually Howe's corrected positions are an improvement over the original, but in this case the original position is dead on the galaxy (precessing to RA 03 17 21.5, Dec -41 05 55), while Howe's position is a little to its east (precessing to RA 03 17 56.2, Dec -41 06 01). However, the galaxy is so large and bright that the identification is certain no matter which coordinates are used.
Physical Information: Apparent size 11.0 by 9.5 arcmin? Used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies as an example of galaxy type (R)SAB(l)0/a.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1292 (Barnard, 1860 RA 03 12 15, NPD 118 08.0) is "faint, pretty small, a little extended, very gradually brighter middle, small (faint) double star near".
Physical Information: Apparent size 3.0 by 1.4 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1293 (= GC 686 = JH 294 = WH III 574, 1860 RA 03 12 25, NPD 49 07.1) is "very faint, round, brighter middle, northwestern of 2", the other being NGC 1294.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.9 by 0.9 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1294 (= GC 687 = JH 295 = WH III 575, 1860 RA 03 12 30, NPD 49 08.9) is "very faint, round, brighter middle, southeastern of 2", the other being NGC 1293.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.6 by 1.0 arcmin (from the images below). (A member of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1295 (Ormond Stone list I (#102), 1860 RA 03 12 35, NPD 104 30.7) is "extremely faint, very small, gradually brighter middle and nucleus, 10th magnitude star 3 arcmin following (to the east)". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 03 13 29. The corrected position precesses to RA 03 20 03.3, Dec -14 00 08, on the southern edge of the galaxy, and there is a 10th magnitude star just to the east, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.8 by 0.55 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1296 (Leavenworth list II (#365), 1860 RA 03 12 47, NPD 103 34.7) is "extremely faint, very small, round".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.9 by 0.65 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1297 (Barnard, 1860 RA 03 12 52, NPD 109 36.3) is "faint, pretty small".
Physical Information: Apparent size 2.3 by 1.9 arcmin?? Used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies as an example of galaxy type SA0⁺ pec.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1298 (= GC 5309, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 03 13 10, NPD 92 37.2) is "faint, pretty small, round, 13th magnitude star to southwest".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.1 by 0.9 arcmin (from the images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 1299 (= GC 688 = JH 296 = WH II 287, 1860 RA 03 13 15, NPD 96 46.0) is "very faint, small, very little extended, gradually brighter middle, extremely mottled but not resolved".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.15 by 0.6 arcmin (from the images below).