How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live! – Henry David Thoreau, journal, 1851 August 19th

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

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

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