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

After they had dined, Mrs. Teachum told them she thought it proper that they should use some exercise in the cooler part of the day, lest, by sitting too much, they should injure their health. – Sarah Fielding (1710–1768), “The Governess, or The Little Female Academy,”

Still, it is customary to keep pupils sitting too long at once. They ought to stand occasionally, or march around the room; and they should be required to exercise a few minutes in the open air, once an hour, at least. – American Annals of Education and Instruction, April 1832

Helen started, and said she feared she had been sitting too long idle. – Maria Edgeworth (1768–1849), Helen, 1834