Exemplary preparation: Charles Dickens and his lectern

Around Christmas time, we're bombarded with one of the roughly 30 film adaptations of the famous Christmas story, practically at any time of day or night. Yet Charles Dickens (1812-1870) wrote considerably more (and arguably better) books. Most people know that. But what hardly anyone knows is that he was also a furniture designer. And here's how it happened: Besides writing, he had another great passion: the stage. He directed various amateur theater productions in London and also acted in them himself. At some point, he had the idea of ​​reading his own stories aloud on stage. So he invited some of his closest friends to see how it would be received. Initially skeptical, they were ultimately captivated by the way Dickens gave each character their own distinct personality through altered voices and dramatic gestures.
So he decided to bring his readings to larger stages. Knowing that the voice and expression could be varied more extensively while standing, he designed his own lectern, which he had built by a cabinetmaker – and which he subsequently improved time and again.

On the left side of the lectern (from the speaker's perspective), there was a rest for the hand or a book. On the right, a small table could be folded out, for example, for drinks. Charles Dickens was also very specific about the color scheme: In a handwritten note accompanying one of the early drafts, he stated that the table should be gray-green, but not too dark. And the fringe had to match. (Incidentally, Charles Dickens also stipulated that the stage backdrop should be as simple as possible – excessive decoration would only have distracted from the main focus – namely, himself and his story.)
The finished lectern accompanied the writer in the following years and decades, including to America, where two of his most successful reading tours took him. At times, he read to audiences exceeding 1,000. He was a star of his time. The immense success of these readings stemmed from three things: the texts were good, the speaker was good, and the setup was perfect. Essentially, nothing has changed since Dickens' time: every successful event requires meticulous preparation in every respect.
And if you're currently preparing something: We'd be happy to help you with the implementation. Not just with markers and flipcharts, paper and pinboards – but also with well-designed furniture and solutions from our contract furniture range.

Images:
1: Illustration in Harper's Weekly, v. 11, no. 571, 7 December 1867, p. 777 (Wikimedia)
2. Dickens' original design for a reading table, between 1850 and 1870 ( Dickens Museum )