The fronts of drawers need to be firmly attached to their sides, so that they cannot be pulled apart as a result of frequent use, even when the drawer is full of heavy things. Furniture makers meet this need in a variety of ways, most commonly through some means of what is known as dovetailing.

In North America, between 1690 and 1700, the most common method of joining drawer fronts to their sides was to cut a notch at each end of the drawer front, into which the end of the drawer side would fit. The pieces were then nailed together.

By 1700, drawers were being rabbeted in addition to being nailed. Strength was sometimes being added by cutting a fairly large triangular groove into the drawer front, which was matched by an identically shaped "tongue" at the end of the drawer side. The tongue and notch were shaped much like a dove's tail, hence the term "dovetailing".

During the Queen Anne period (around 1725), dovetailing became much more common, typically with three or four wide dovetails on each end of the drawer front. As time went on, furniture makers gradually reduced the size of the dovetails, until there would often be five or six thin dovetails by the 1840s.

Around 1850, though, they opted for a speedier construction method, with only a single large dovetail at each end of the drawer front. The industrial age had arrived, and there was a much greater demand for furniture with drawers.

Between about 1860 and 1890, machinery was being used more often to assist the cabinetry and furniture industry. This is the time period when machined pegs were introduced to hold drawer fronts to their sides. By the turn of the century, machine-made drawer pieces were being hand-nailed together.

Between 1905 and 1925, advances in technology brought in a process where glued machine dovetailing became common throughout the industry. This process became the standard until the early 1950s, when pressboard and plywood construction became more accepted as the standard.

In recent years, a wider range of methods for joining drawer parts have become available. However, many of us still prefer the beauty and strength of a well-made dovetail joined drawer.