Do we know how many writers and artists actually made a living in Hungary in the last third of the 19th century from creative activity? What sources and numerical data and / or approximation options are available to do this? Gere is a lack of systematic and extensive research on the Hungarian intelligentsia of the 19th century. For this reason, we unfortunately still know very little about this largely “gray zone” circle. Data from census surveys and contemporary statistics starting at this time, if used carefully and with due caution in our analyses, can bring surprising and completely new results in research of literary sociology and social history. In many cases they can rewrite our hitherto generally accepted opinions and assumptions about certain literary processes.