It was discovered on 7 July 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop.

[9] NGC 55 and the spiral galaxy NGC 300 have traditionally been identified as members of the Sculptor Group, a nearby group of galaxies in the constellation of the same name.

However, recent distance measurements indicate that the two galaxies actually lie in the foreground.

[4] The Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook[11] writes the following about NGC 55: "Nearly edge-on and appears asymmetrical with some signs of dust near the bulge, which is diffuse, broad and somewhat elongated with the south edge sharp; southeast of the bulge it is strongly curved and lined with 4 or 5 faint knots; north edge of the curve is sharp."

Burnham calls it "one of the outstanding galaxies of the southern heavens", somewhat resembling a smaller version of the Large Magellanic Cloud.