I have the exact same problem as Ross Berteig on Vista 32 bit. My Inkscape was working fine for months until today. I uninstalled my avast antivirus yesterday and this is likely the cause. It seems the code is being built for fixed dll load offsets.

I tried reinstalling with the latest stable version and installed the bleeding edge version. I believe this could be something like a compilation mode error, because it appears that the liblcms-1.dll is not using dynamic linking properly. Typically when compiled in release mode I thought dlls were allowed to be loaded at any address, but the code in liblcms-1.dll is specifically expecting a dll to be loaded at a specified address (but the dll is not loaded at that address!).

Here is some debugging information for the inkscape_r10115-201103191533

Exception occurs at:
0x25118E (liblcms-s.dll + 0x118E): CALL 0x8FC90000  <- Address 0x8FC90000 is unallocated and causes and access violation.

Here is the assembly in the area around this instruction:
00251170   55               PUSH EBP
00251171   B8 0000C98F      MOV EAX,8FC90000
00251176   89E5             MOV EBP,ESP
00251178   83EC 08          SUB ESP,8
0025117B   85C0             TEST EAX,EAX
0025117D   74 14            JE SHORT liblcms-.00251193
0025117F   C74424 04 20F027>MOV DWORD PTR SS:[ESP+4],liblcms-.0027F0>
00251187   C70424 00E52700  MOV DWORD PTR SS:[ESP],liblcms-.0027E500
0025118E   E8 6DEEA38F      CALL 8FC90000
00251193   A1 90AB2700      MOV EAX,DWORD PTR DS:[27AB90]
00251198   85C0             TEST EAX,EAX
0025119A   74 3A            JE SHORT liblcms-.002511D6
0025119C   C70424 00B02700  MOV DWORD PTR SS:[ESP],liblcms-.0027B000 ; ASCII "libgcj_s.dll"
002511A3   E8 F88A0200      CALL <JMP.&KERNEL32.GetModuleHandleA>
002511A8   BA 0000C98F      MOV EDX,8FC90000
002511AD   83EC 04          SUB ESP,4
002511B0   85C0             TEST EAX,EAX
002511B2   74 15            JE SHORT liblcms-.002511C9
002511B4   C74424 04 0DB027>MOV DWORD PTR SS:[ESP+4],liblcms-.0027B0>; ASCII "_Jv_RegisterClasses"
002511BC   890424           MOV DWORD PTR SS:[ESP],EAX
002511BF   E8 EC8A0200      CALL <JMP.&KERNEL32.GetProcAddress>
002511C4   83EC 08          SUB ESP,8
002511C7   89C2             MOV EDX,EAX
002511C9   85D2             TEST EDX,EDX
002511CB   74 09            JE SHORT liblcms-.002511D6
002511CD   C70424 90AB2700  MOV DWORD PTR SS:[ESP],liblcms-.0027AB90
002511D4   FFD2             CALL EDX
002511D6   C9               LEAVE
002511D7   C3               RETN



Here is a stack trace at the exception time:
0022F9D8   00251193  RETURN to liblcms-.00251193 from 8FC90000
0022F9DC   0027E500  liblcms-.0027E500
0022F9E0   0027F020  liblcms-.0027F020
0022F9E4  /0022FA04
0022F9E8  |0025125E  RETURN to liblcms-.0025125E from liblcms-.00251170
0022F9EC  |01220000
0022F9F0  |40000060
0022F9F4  |00000080
0022F9F8  |0022FAF4
0022F9FC  |00000001
0022FA00  |00000001
0022FA04  ]0022FA24
0022FA08  |002510E1  RETURN to liblcms-.002510E1 from liblcms-.00251230
0022FA0C  |00000080
0022FA10  |0022FA38
0022FA14  |012443D8
0022FA18  |0022FA3C
0022FA1C  |00000001
0022FA20  |0022FA38
0022FA24  ]0022FA44
0022FA28  |76F413B4  RETURN to ntdll.76F413B4
0022FA2C  |00250000  liblcms-.00250000
0022FA30  |00000001
0022FA34  |0022FD24
0022FA38  |00000001
0022FA3C  |0022FAF4
0022FA40  |012443D8
0022FA44  ]0022FB3C
0022FA48  |76F2909B  RETURN to ntdll.76F2909B from ntdll.76F413A0
0022FA4C  |00251060  liblcms-.<ModuleEntryPoint>
0022FA50  |00250000  liblcms-.00250000
0022FA54  |00000001
0022FA58  |0022FD24
0022FA5C  |76E66011
0022FA60  |00000000
0022FA64  |76F4BEC4  ASCII "LdrpInitializeProcess"
0022FA68  |7FFD9000
0022FA6C  |0031D84D  libMag_2.0031D84D
0022FA70  |FFFFFFFE
0022FA74  |76F29A03  RETURN to ntdll.76F29A03 from ntdll.76F4A15D
0022FA78  |76F29D29  RETURN to ntdll.76F29D29 from ntdll.76F298F6
0022FA7C  |01249C08
0022FA80  |012420E0
0022FA84  |01089348  inkscape.01089348
0022FA88  |010A9E58  ASCII "libpoppler-5.dll"
0022FA8C  |00000001
0022FA90  |76F64CB0  RETURN to ntdll.76F64CB0
0022FA94  |76F27E1B  RETURN to ntdll.76F27E1B from ntdll.ZwQueryInformationProcess
0022FA98  |FFFFFFFF
0022FA9C  |00000025
0022FAA0  |0022FAB8
0022FAA4  |00000030
0022FAA8  |00000000
0022FAAC  |00000000
0022FAB0  |76F4BEC4  ASCII "LdrpInitializeProcess"
0022FAB4  |7FFD9000
0022FAB8  |00401110  inkscape.<ModuleEntryPoint>
0022FABC  |00000000
0022FAC0  |00200000
0022FAC4  |00001000
0022FAC8  |00000002
0022FACC  |00040000
0022FAD0  |00000024
0022FAD4  |00000001
0022FAD8  |00000000
0022FADC  |00000000
0022FAE0  |00000030
0022FAE4  |FFFFFFFF
0022FAE8  |FFFFFFFF
0022FAEC  |76F2907A  RETURN to ntdll.76F2907A from ntdll.RtlActivateActivationContextUnsafeFast



And here is my executable modules table. You can see that no dll exists around that address.
Base       Size       Entry      Name       File version      Path
00250000   0003C000   00251060   liblcms-                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\liblcms-1.dll
00290000   000E7000   002910C0   libMag_2                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libMagickWand-3.dll
00380000   0007A000   00381060   libgio-2                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgio-2.0-0.dll
00400000   00CF5000   00401110   inkscape   0.48+devel        C:\Apps\Inkscape\inkscape.exe
01100000   00012000   01101060   libpan_1                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpangocairo-1.0-0.dll
01120000   00096000   01121060   libpan_2   1.26.1.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpangoft2-1.0-0.dll
011C0000   0002A000   011DC88F   libxslt                      C:\Apps\Inkscape\libxslt.dll
016C0000   003C9000   016C1060   libgtk-w   2.16.6.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgtk-win32-2.0-0.dll
01A90000   00264000   01A910C0   libgtkmm                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgtkmm-2.4-1.dll
01D00000   001B1000   01D010C0   libpop_1                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpoppler-5.dll
01EC0000   000DA000   01ECD0B7   iconv      1.9               C:\Apps\Inkscape\iconv.dll
01FA0000   00062000   01FA1412   mscms      6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\mscms.dll
10000000   00012000   100092DA   zlib1      1.2.2             C:\Apps\Inkscape\zlib1.dll
61180000   0000E000   61181000   pthreadG   2, 7, 0, 0        C:\Apps\Inkscape\pthreadGC2.dll
61A00000   0003C000   61A010C0   libpng14                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpng14-14.dll
62140000   000A4000   621410C0   libcai_1                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libcairomm-1.0-1.dll
62940000   00020000   62941060   libatk-1   1.28.0.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libatk-1.0-0.dll
633C0000   00012000   633C1060   libpopt-                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpopt-0.dll
63600000   00017000   63601060   libgomp-                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgomp-1.dll
63A40000   00044000   63A41060   libgobje   2.22.3.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgobject-2.0-0.dll
63CC0000   0007C000   63CC1060   freetype                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\freetype6.dll
64F80000   00041000   64F81060   libfontc                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libfontconfig-1.dll
65340000   00038000   65341060   libgdk_p   2.18.5.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgdk_pixbuf-2.0-0.dll
65580000   00049000   65581060   libpango   1.26.1.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpango-1.0-0.dll
65C40000   0000E000   65C41060   libgthre   2.22.3.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgthread-2.0-0.dll
664C0000   000D4000   664C10C0   libglibm                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libglibmm-2.4-1.dll
66600000   0005D000   66601060   libtiff-                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libtiff-3.dll
66A00000   0002B000   66A010C0   libopenj                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libopenjpeg-2.dll
68280000   00190000   68281060   libwpg-0   0.1.0.0           C:\Apps\Inkscape\libwpg-0.1.dll
68440000   00017000   68441060   bzip2      1.0.5.3001        C:\Apps\Inkscape\bzip2.dll
685C0000   000F0000   685C1060   libglib-   2.22.3.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libglib-2.0-0.dll
68900000   0003B000   68901060   libjpeg-                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libjpeg-7.dll
68DC0000   000F7000   68DC10C0   libcairo                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libcairo-2.dll
68F40000   00023000   68F410C0   libexpat                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libexpat-1.dll
69000000   00017000   69001000   intl       0.17              C:\Apps\Inkscape\intl.dll
695C0000   00075000   695C10C0   libMagic                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libMagick++-3.dll
69C80000   00038000   69C81060   libpng12                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpng12-0.dll
6A140000   00053000   6A1410C0   libgdkmm                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgdkmm-2.4-1.dll
6AA00000   0008F000   6AA010C0   libsigc-                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libsigc-2.0-0.dll
6AC00000   00114000   6AC010C0   libxml2                      C:\Apps\Inkscape\libxml2.dll
6B280000   00018000   6B281060   libpan_3   1.26.1.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpangowin32-1.0-0.dll
6B780000   00078000   6B7810C0   libgiomm                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgiomm-2.4-1.dll
6C340000   000A9000   6C341060   libgdk-w   2.16.6.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgdk-win32-2.0-0.dll
6CA00000   00102000   6CA01060   libwpg-s   0.1.0.0           C:\Apps\Inkscape\libwpg-stream-0.1.dll
6D440000   004E7000   6D4410C0   libMag_1                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libMagickCore-3.dll
6DD00000   0000E000   6DD01060   libgmodu   2.22.3.0          C:\Apps\Inkscape\libgmodule-2.0-0.dll
6E980000   0004D000   6E9810C0   libatkmm                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libatkmm-1.6-1.dll
6EAC0000   0003C000   6EAC10C0   libpan_4                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpangomm-1.4-1.dll
6F3C0000   0003C000   6F3C10C0   libpoppl                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\libpoppler-glib-4.dll
6FBC0000   0000C000   6FBC10C0   mingwm10                     C:\Apps\Inkscape\mingwm10.dll
705F0000   00007000   705F1150   WSOCK32    6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.DLL
73580000   00042000   735A48EF   WINSPOOL   6.0.6001.18000 (  C:\Windows\system32\WINSPOOL.DRV
74510000   0019E000   74543681   COMCTL32   6.10 (longhorn_r  C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.6002.18305_none_5cb72f2a088b0ed3\COMCTL32.DLL
747D0000   00005000   747D11EE   MSIMG32    6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\MSIMG32.DLL
75120000   0002C000   75123EC1   DNSAPI     6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\DNSAPI.DLL
75430000   00014000   75431235   Secur32    6.0.6002.18051 (  C:\Windows\system32\Secur32.dll
75450000   0001E000   7545152D   USERENV    6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\USERENV.dll
755A0000   0001E000   755A1378   IMM32      6.0.6002.18005 (  C:\Windows\system32\IMM32.DLL
755C0000   0002D000   755C1434   WS2_32     6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\WS2_32.dll
755F0000   000C8000   755F169E   MSCTF      6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\MSCTF.dll
756C0000   000DC000   7570B7F5   kernel32   6.0.6001.18000 (  C:\Windows\system32\kernel32.dll
75960000   00145000   759B9558   OLE32      6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\OLE32.dll
75AB0000   000C6000   75AF0CC1   ADVAPI32   6.0.6002.18005 (  C:\Windows\system32\ADVAPI32.dll
75B80000   000C3000   75BD02EB   RPCRT4     6.0.6001.18000 (  C:\Windows\system32\RPCRT4.dll
75CD0000   00006000   75CD16B8   NSI        6.0.6001.18000 (  C:\Windows\system32\NSI.dll
75D70000   000AA000   75D79FAE   msvcrt     7.0.6002.18005 (  C:\Windows\system32\msvcrt.dll
75E30000   00059000   75E4BA35   SHLWAPI    6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\SHLWAPI.dll
75F90000   0004B000   75F9F12A   GDI32      6.0.6002.18005 (  C:\Windows\system32\GDI32.dll
76170000   00073000   76171AC2   COMDLG32   6.0.6000.16386 (  C:\Windows\system32\COMDLG32.DLL
761F0000   00B11000   762690FD   SHELL32    6.0.6001.18000 (  C:\Windows\system32\SHELL32.DLL
76F00000   00128000              ntdll      6.0.6001.18000 (  C:\Windows\system32\ntdll.dll
77030000   0009D000   77047A1D   USER32     6.0.6001.18000 (  C:\Windows\system32\USER32.dll
770D0000   0008D000   770D3F45   OLEAUT32   6.0.6002.18005    C:\Windows\system32\OLEAUT32.dll