We use the CfA Redshift Survey of galaxies with m_z_ < 15.5 to calculate the galaxy luminosity function over the range -13<= M_Z_ <= - 22. The sample includes 9063 galaxies distributed over 2.1 Sr. For galaxies with velocities cz >= 2500 km s^-1^, where the effects of peculiar velocities are small, the luminosity function is well represented by a Schechter function with parameters phi}_*_ = 0.04 +/- 0.01 Mpc^-3^, M_*_ = - 18.8 +/- 0.3 and α = - 1.0 +/- 0.2. When we include all galaxies with cz >= 500 km s^-1^, the number of galaxies in the range -16 <= M_Z_ <= -13 exceeds the extrapolation of the Schechter function by a factor of 3.1 +/- 0.5. This faint-end excess is not caused by the local peculiar velocity field but may be partially explained by small scale errors in the Zwicky magnitudes. Even with a scale error as large as 0.2 mag mag^-1^, which is unlikely, the excess is still a factor of 1.8 +/- 0.3. If real, this excess affects the interpretation of deep counts of field galaxies.
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Marzke et al. (1994) studied this question.