Near-infrared surface photometry of spiral galaxies. I. The data.

We present K'-band surface photometry of a sample of 31 inclined Sa-Scd galaxies, together with additional J- and H-band data for four of them. In this first paper of a series, profiles are presented, together with global and isophotal parameters. Our profiles are compared to similar B, R and I data collected from other sources. Three galaxies exhibit previously unknown small bars in their center, while in five others, such bars may also be present. Four objects present a narrow elongated feature in their center aligned with their major axis, which could be an inward extension of the disk. A few galaxies display very thin spiral arms. Color-color diagrams indicate that the extinction inside the four galaxies for which we have JHK' images is limited to A_V_<2.