Abstract

The article presents the results of a historical and archival study carried out with the aim of reconstructing the composition of the cartographic fond of the Ural Mining Administration (Siberian Ober-bergamt) formed in the initial period of its activity in the 1720s–30s. The information potential of cartographic documents of this period is high: visual and graphic sources complement clerical narratives and allow the researcher to visualize the implementation of state measures in the field of industrial development of the territories from the Vyatka to the Far East. These documents are now a part of the fond 59 “Drawing office of the Ural Mining Administration.” Using methods of cartographic source studies, principles of historicism and system analysis, and tools of archival heuristics has allowed the author to reveal the history of the cartographic documents creation, to determine their number, composition, content, and authorship. Data from clerical sources of the first third of the 18th century has helped to identify the original composition of the cartographic documents of the Siberian ober-bergamt and to establish the degree of their preservation. As a result, it has been determined that out of 177 documents that were part of the “Drawing” mining administration in 1734, 66 cartographic documents have survived to this day. Additional research has shown that some of the documents were lost in the 1840s and in the 1920s. The publication presents a classification proposed by the author for the identified pictorial and graphic documents. These are the following key groups in the “Drawing” collection: general geographic (land maps), special or thematic (mine surveying, urban planning documentation, maps-schemes of land and forest disposal), and scientific and technical documents. The design features of each documents group are analyzed; the specifics of their content and design are disclosed. It is shown that studying the information potential of cartographic documents allows us a deeper understanding of the specifics and geography of the Ural mining administration activities in the initial period of its existence and helps to supplement the biographies of its officials.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call