[en] Surface brightness distributions have been determined for 10 globular clusters from photoelectric surface photometry using centered apertures and small-aperture drift scans across the clusters. Star counts have been used to extend the distributions in the outer regions. The observed distributions are compared with the theoretical surface density distributions from King's models of globular clusters. Central surface brightnesses, core radii, tidal radii, and total magnitudes derived from this comparison are tabulated, as are the parameters which will be used in Paper II, in conjunction with the central velocity dispersion, to give masses and M/L values for these clusters. Reddenings and distance moduli determined from consideration of all available data are also given