Host and interstellar absorption. (top) High-resolution visual-wavelength spectra of SN 2011iv (top) and SN 2007on (bottom) (Sternberg et al. 2014), zoomed in at the expected location of the host-galaxy Na i D absorption. The thin arrows indicate the positions of the Na i D lines at the heliocentric velocity of NGC 1404, while the thick arrows indicate the expected positions based on the rotation curve of the host (Graham et al. 1998). In both cases, no Na i D lines are discernible, suggesting minimal to no host-galaxy reddening. (bottom) Interstellar Fe and Mg absorption features in UV spectra of SN 2011iv. The spectra around maximum light of SN 2011iv exhibit narrow absorption features of Fe ii λ2344, Fe ii λ2374, and Fe ii λ2382 (left panel), Fe ii λλ2586, 2600 (middle panel), and Mg ii λλ2796, 2803 (right panel) at the position of the Milky Way (solid grey lines). The dashed grey lines indicate the expected position of the absorption features, if they originate from the host galaxy.