The binding is made of crushed morocco, i. e. high-quality goatskin. The artist made an ornamental frame of gold filigree all the way along the perimeter of the cover. The upper half is adorned with vignettes which make a gold casing changing into an impressed golden emblem of the Russian Empire. Alexander III’s initials in the album name are made in old Russian style to emphasize the national and historic significance of the event.
Also, the tome has illustrations made by the chromolithographic process. Using that technique, the artist sort of split the illustration into individual colours and created an individual plate for each of them, either a zinc plate or a stone plate. Then he would apply paint to the plates and made several prints on paper, one after another. The result was a high-quality full-colour illustration. This technique was used to make the ruling couple’s portraits and the coronation ceremony illustrations, such as at the entrance to Moscow, in the Dormition Cathedral, in the Faceted Chamber. One painter, Makovsky, depicted the celebratory illumination, and another, Nikolai Samokish, drew a military squadron during the celebration.
The book has eight chapters, just as many as the number of days taken by the coronation activities. Each chapter starts on a separate page; the text is preceded by a miniature illustration with a white and grey floral ornament against a dark red background. The chapter numbering is made in blue so the whole composition symbolizes the state three-colour flag.