Daddy - The Victorian machine of mechanical and bodily torture.
Tried to do some research about positions back then and it's virtually impossible to find anything on this subject. The still camera and photo developing is still in it's infancy (Kodak roll film in 1889). When there is a picture, more often than not the rider isn't even sitting on the bike, presumably due to the long exposure time to keep still in a professional studio with a large format camera.
There are a handful of line drawings or painted pictures but human proportions are often mis-represented.
Most of the documentation is about the bike technology itself. I don't know, but probably at this time there were weird social sporty protocols of what was proper and taboo (eg. was it the done thing to ride off the saddle and have ones arse sticking up in the air?
) and there was probably all sorts of weird pseudo science in bike position.
I can't get my head around it - logic would say for a track bike you could put up with an uncomfortable position, but we already established early on the US pro track racers were riding to exhaustion for long periods being more like a circus act and the track being open day and night.
@Nabeaquam - that photo you found with a good side profile is the best I have seen.
Don't really see a solution to your too cramped position. Perhaps turning the seat-post around is at least worth a try (and like you say it does appear that was something done back then), or see if there were any longer stems and bars with more reach at the expense of loosing an original interesting part. Can't ever see this approaching a "normal" road position - it's just such a different beast.
Here is my own psudo-science attempt.
The photo was "levelled" and I added various lines which I thought are of interest.
Head angle with a protractor on the screen gives about 65 degrees.
View attachment 656272
[ now off to send my CV to Sir David Brailsford ; I'm sure he will want me on his pay roll ]