Introduction

In the preceding pages, I have tried to present the observed properties of and to develop a theoretical understanding for the group of unusual variables known as symbiotic stars. While excellent reviews of this subject have appeared elsewhere (Allen 1979a; Boyarchuk 1964a, 1975; Feast 1982; Hack 1982; Ilovaisky and Wallerstein 1968; Sahade 1960, 1976), it has been many years since Payne-Gaposchkin (1957) and Swings (1970) discussed the peculiarities of individual symbiotic systems (lists of symbiotic stars also appeared in Bidelman 1954 and Wackerling 1970). Over one hundred stars with combination spectra have been identified since Swings' review; most of these discoveries resulted from detailed objective prism searches conducted by Merrill and Burwell (1933, 1943, 1950), Henize (1967, 1976), and Sanduleak and Stephenson (1973). A number of systems were originally classified as stellar planetary nebulae (e.g., Minkowski 1946, 1948; Haro 1952; Perek 1960, 1962, 1963; Perek and Kohoutek 1967; Frantsman 1962; Thé 1962, 1964; Wray 1966), and later were correctly identified as symbiotic stars by Allen (1979a, b, 1984, and references therein).

In addition to these exciting new discoveries, large amounts of new data have been gathered for the classical symbiotics known by Merrill, especially in the infrared (cf. Allen 1974b, 1980a; Allen and Glass 1974, 1975; Glass and Webster 1973; Feast and Glass 1980; Swings and Allen 1972; Feast, et al. 1983a). It seems appropriate, then, to publish a new summary of individual systems, before the anticipated deluge of material from Space Telescope and other satellite projects buries the recent discoveries made by Einstein, IUE, and various ground-based observatories.