HST CFRS and LDSS redshift surveys. I.

In this, the first paper in the series, each galaxy has been morphologically classified according to a scheme similar to that developed for the Medium Deep Survey. We discuss the reproducibility of these classifications and quantify possible biases that may arise from various redshift-dependent effects.

We then discuss automated classifications of the sample and conclude, from several tests, that we can expect an apparent migration with redshift to later Hubble types that corresponds to a misclassification in our adopted machine classification system of ~24%+/-11 of the true "spirals" as "peculiars" at a redshift z~=0.9. After allowing for such biases, the redshift distribution for normal spirals, together with their luminosity function derived as a function of redshift, indicates approximately 1mag of luminosity evolution in B_AB_ by z~=1.