  We report the results of a preliminary nova survey of Local Group dwarf
ellipticals. We used the Tenagra Observatory to observe M32, NGC 205, NGC 147,
and NGC 185 in their entirety every clear night over a 4.5 month interval and
discovered one nova in M32 and a candidate nova in NGC 205. The nova in M32 was
verified spectroscopically. The nova candidate in NGC 205 had an unusually low
peak luminosity (M_V = -5.1), and we were unable to obtain spectroscopic
verification. We report a high bulk nova rate for M32 of 2(+2.4,-1.0) yr^-1
and, assuming the candidate nova is correctly identified, for NGC 205 of
2(+2.2,-1.0) yr^-1. If the NGC 205 variable is not a nova, we calculate an
upper limit on the bulk nova rate for NGC 205 of 1.5 yr^-1. We report upper
limits on the bulk nova rates in NGC 147 of 2 yr^-1 and NGC 185 of 1.8 yr^-1
and a combined bulk nova rate for the four galaxies of 4(+4.2,-1.4) yr^-1
(2{+3.9,-1.4} yr^-1 without the NGC 205 nova candidate). From the bulk rates,
integrated and extinction corrected V-band photometry, and (V-K)_0 colors we
derive a luminosity specific nova rate for M32 of 12.0(+14.4,-6.0) yr^-1 [10^10
L_Sun,K]^-1 and for NGC 205 of 29.3(+32.3,-14.7) yr^-1 [10^10 L_Sun,K]^-1 and
for the combined 4 galaxies of 14.1(+14.8,-4.9) yr^-1 [10^10 L_Sun,K]^-1
(7.0{+13.7,-4.9} yr^-1[10^10 L_Sun,K]^-1 without the NGC 205 nova candidate).
If the higher rate is confirmed by surveys in subsequent seasons, it would
imply that either dwarf ellipticals have a higher interacting binary fraction
than their higher mass counter parts, or that the completeness is higher for
these less complex systems and the nova rates for larger, more distant systems
are systematically underestimated.

Astrophysics