@ranwhenparked From what I can see, the column shift manual was almost seen as an innovation in maybe the late 30s when it became popular - as you mention, for extra seating no doubt.
Back in the 90s my dad had a Fairlane hobby car, 3 on the tree, as it was also a manual steering and manual brakes car, I did not find it enjoyable to drive (but he was quite fond of it, the 289 paired well with the 3 speed, and he'd drive it in town only using 2nd gear).
Many fintails have a 4 on the tree - I think the first fully automatic (not hydrak) car wasn't until 1962. And then starting in the mid-late 00s, MB brought back the column shifter, I've had 4 modern MBs with it. I too prefer it to a console, as it opens up the space a bit.