Science Verification of the Unit Telescope 1 of the ESO very large telescope

Science Verification observations with the VLT Unit Telescope No. 1 have pr ovided the first publicly available scientific data from the VLT. This pape r describes the preparation, observations, and reductions of the imaging da ta obtained during this Science Verification phase. Also given is a descrip tion of the status of the telescope at the time of the observations and of the instrument, the VLT Test Camera. The reductions procedures to which the data have been submitted are outlined. Data analyses and their astrophysic al interpretations are presented in other papers in this issue.