Musical accompaniment: It’s All Forgotten Now by Al Bowlly
This is Mrs. John Molson, of Montreal. She was photographed in 1890.
McCord Stewart Museum Montreal
You see how straight her back is, how her shoulders are down and back, and she looks ahead composedly, with a neutral expression. The dark headband is striking with her lovely white hair. Women like her were not uncommon in the Victorian days but by modern standards, she is remarkable. She has presence.
I work on my posture quite a bit but I doubt Mrs. Molson ever had to correct hers. She gives the impression of someone who balanced books on her head as a child and went to finishing school. This was probably a very natural pose for her.
old spirituals 
You would have the same posture as a Victorian woman, and find it impossible to slouch while standing or sitting, if you donned an Eighteenth Century woman’s corset. I react in wonderment seeing photos of “mature” men and women of the 18th century wearing the formal clothing, starch collars, corsets, hats, pointed laced shoes, etc. I find the older I get the more I want to wear comfortable clothings and footwear.
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