Posture Board
ca. 1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Good posture was considered very important in the UK until about the 1970s. Between the 1780s and the 1850s, middle and upper class girls, in particular, often used devices like this posture board, also known as a back board. It was placed across the back just above the waist with the elbows tucked behind its ends. This pulled the shoulders back, producing an upright stance, and encouraged the user to concentrate on keeping this position in order not to drop the board.
Some educational reformers eventually concluded that this kind of method was too artificial, and that it led to vanity and self consciousness:
'Miss Fanshaw, an erect stiffened figure, made her entrée; and it was impossible not to perceive that her whole soul was intent upon her manner of holding her head and placing her elbows, as she came into the room. Her person had undergone all the ordinary and extraordinary tortures of back-boards, collars, stocks, dumbbells, &c.'
A description of a teenage girl from 'The Good French Governess' by Maria Edgeworth (1831).
Some educational reformers eventually concluded that this kind of method was too artificial, and that it led to vanity and self consciousness:
'Miss Fanshaw, an erect stiffened figure, made her entrée; and it was impossible not to perceive that her whole soul was intent upon her manner of holding her head and placing her elbows, as she came into the room. Her person had undergone all the ordinary and extraordinary tortures of back-boards, collars, stocks, dumbbells, &c.'
A description of a teenage girl from 'The Good French Governess' by Maria Edgeworth (1831).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved elm wood |
| Brief description | Posture board, elm wood, for a child, made in England, ca. 1820. |
| Physical description | Child's posture board, of polished elm wood. It is carved into an ovoid paddle shape extending into a long narrow stem at each side. A small hole in one end may have been made for a string so that the board could be suspended when not in use. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Lot 77 in the Sale of the Roger Warner Collection at Christie's South Kensington, 20-21 January 2009 |
| Historical context | Roger Warner (1913-2008) was a well respected antiques collector as well as dealer. |
| Production | Attribution note: Another example of a back board in the museum's collection is T.43-1934 |
| Summary | Good posture was considered very important in the UK until about the 1970s. Between the 1780s and the 1850s, middle and upper class girls, in particular, often used devices like this posture board, also known as a back board. It was placed across the back just above the waist with the elbows tucked behind its ends. This pulled the shoulders back, producing an upright stance, and encouraged the user to concentrate on keeping this position in order not to drop the board. Some educational reformers eventually concluded that this kind of method was too artificial, and that it led to vanity and self consciousness: 'Miss Fanshaw, an erect stiffened figure, made her entrée; and it was impossible not to perceive that her whole soul was intent upon her manner of holding her head and placing her elbows, as she came into the room. Her person had undergone all the ordinary and extraordinary tortures of back-boards, collars, stocks, dumbbells, &c.' A description of a teenage girl from 'The Good French Governess' by Maria Edgeworth (1831). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.1-2009 |
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| Record created | March 10, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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