From the Strand, July 1903:

The curious photograph which is here reproduced shows the well-known inventor of flying-machines, M. Santos Dumont, perched upon what looks like an abnormally lofty office-stool, accompanied by a friend in a similar position. The reason for this peculiarity lies in the fact that M. Santos Dumont is so accustomed to the sensation of being elevated above the earth that he feels more at home when he is so, even at meal-times.

This sounds like a joke, but the New York Herald tells of a dinner Santos-Dumont held in Paris that year:

From tables seven feet from floor to cloth the viands and wines were served, while the waiters attending to their wants walked about on stilts. The chairs, with their long, thin legs, were reached by mounting a short flight of portable steps.

Industrialist C.K.G. Billings had held a dinner on horseback that March in New York; possibly Santos-Dumont had taken that as inspiration. Here are a few more photos.