Man, the guy cutting those drawer dovetails was flying! Look at how far the tails are over-cut. He was banging those things out. A bit different when they're doing them piece work and speed is paramount. Anyone know off hand how many drawers a production guy did by hand back in the day?
How wide is that one board on the back? Is it over 2'? I'm very tempted to ask what the restoration is going to run you on the highboy.
Granted, it wasn't cut on an automated CNC machine, but nothing's perfect - even perfection. You're also giving short shrift to the piece's wabi. It's dripping with it.
It is dripping with more than wabi, bro`. I don`t think it needs to be made with pieces from a cnc, a few toolmarks from hand tools are fine, not if the tool was a pick ax. And if that piece is from the 18th century (1700`s) my name is Slartibartfast.
I like it better because it has rough edges yet still looks reasonably well made. The glue block repairs less so, but it's a personal decision about whether it's worth having most any piece of furniture restored. As far as the wabi aspect, the workman-bang-it-out dovetails are a vast improvement over most beautified dovetails, handcut or no. They're real, and not some sentimentalized idea of a dovetail.
Let's face it, who looks at the dovetails on a drawer other than a carpenter/cabinetmaker or an antique furniture person? It wasn't uncommon for furniture to have only one true arris on a leg, the others being approximate as they weren't critical. Nowadays that would be considered sloppy work - or art, but not quality furniture craft. The glue blocks bother me far more than any other aspect except for the damage.
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