[T]hey marched and counter-marched, clapped their hands, stamped hard upon the floor, and performed various evolutions for the purpose of circulating the blood, which by sitting too long is apt to stagnate, and render them, particularly in this climate, dull and sleepy. – Joseph Holt Ingraham, South-West, 1835 [Originally published anonymously, “By a

To those who visited the old Library of Congress at the Capitol he will always be associated with it — a long, lean figure, in scrupulous frock, erect at a standing desk, and intent upon its littered burden, while the masses of material surged incoherently about him. – Herbert Putnam, of librarian Ainsworth Rand Spofford (1825–1908), 1908, wo

Workers at home who have aching backs and but one writing desk, and that a low one, will find great relief from writing in a standing position (if a recess is out the question), if only for fifteen minutes. My standing desk is a broad mantel shelf. – B.G.A., “Helpful Hints and Suggestions,” in The Writer, August 1887

I am writing this at my standing desk, which is against the window. The window offers a pleasant prospect over the lime trees and sun-bathed hills — delightful natural scenery. – Friedrich Nietzsche, letter to sister Elisabeth, 1862, wording slightly altered