I shall be compelled to buy a standing-desk, which will cost me from two to three dollars, as the older students advise me to have one as necessary to my health. – James Stokes Dickerson, letter to brother, 1842 October 13th

Reginald was nearly all day at his office, and half the night at his stand-up desk in his room. – Henry Kingsley, “Reginald Hetherege,” 1874

Desidiousness. Lat. sitting too much; slothfulness, idleness, carelessness. – A New Dictionary of the English Language by Charles Richardson, 1836

Throughout the illness the most obviously exciting cause of the attacks was posture, stopping over a writing-desk; and he ultimately had to do such work either kneeling or at a standing desk. – Lawson Tait, 1882