Book Editions of the All-Russian Population Census of 1897 as the First Experience of Large-scale Publication of Data in State Statistics. Source Study by Means of Cultural Analytics

The problem of studying the polygraphic image of the census of 1897 with the help of visual computer analysis of bindings and covers of 144 editions of its materials is considered. The idea of the study is based on the image editing technique proposed by Lev Manovich. Four variants of the census publication were identified, two of them were analyzed in detail — a collection of tray copies and simple editions without bindings. It is these “people's” publications that clearly show the scale of publication of government statistics materials, which the Central Statistical Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had to face for the first time. The conclusion is made about the possibility of using the Inkscape vector graphics editor in matters when it is necessary to study the general and special in the design of historical documents of a printing publication.