  We report the discovery of LSR1610-0040, a previously unreported r=17.5 star
with a very high proper motion mu=1.46"/yr. This very cool star (b-i=6.3) is
found to have a peculiar spectrum that does not fit into the standard sequence
of late-M dwarfs and L dwarfs. Rather, the spectrum is more typical of an
ultra-cool subdwarf, with weak bands of TiO and no detectable VO. But because
LSR1610-0040 is so much redder than any other sdM known, and because it does
not appear to fit well into the sdM sequence, we propose that LSR1610-0040 be
assigned a spectral type sdL, making it the first early-type L subdwarf known.
Evidence suggests that LSR1610-0040 is an old, metal-poor star whose mass is
just above the limit of hydrogen burning (M ~ 0.08 M_sun).
