In the late 1800s the industrial revolution in England marked the end of the era of home-based hand manufacturing. The extensive mechanization of furniture production resulted in less expensive machine-made furniture, making furniture affordable for the middle class. Antiques dealer David Lindquist discusses typical furniture designs and construction of the early Victorian period. An examination of a machine-made dresser drawer reveals perfect dovetailing, with each dovetail identical to the next.
Handmade dovetails are irregular and imperfect.
With machine production 100,000 dovetails could be cut in a day. Pottery of the period can be dated exactly because of English registry marks imprinted on the bottom of the piece on the day of production.