The auction had the required slightly fuzzy pictures, the buy-it-now price was less than $20, and the cut looked to me about right for the Natural Form Era (1876-1882). Three clicks and it was mine. 

When it finally came in the mail, I was in for a bit of a surprise, as they appear to be much earlier than I had been expecting.  

 Based the single thread chain stitch seams, I date these drawers from the late 1850's to 1860's.  They were  probably sewn with a Wilcox & Gibbs chain stitch sewing machine that became available for sale in 1859 or 1860 [1].   There were both chain stitch and lock stitch machines displayed at the London International Exhibition of 1862 [2], with lock stitch machines in the majority. Lock stitch machines quickly became the favorite of sewers (as there was no threat of the seams unraveling) and had replaced most chain stitch machines in homes by the mid-1870's.

In style and length, however,  they are very similar to several pairs of drawers in the Met Museum's Costume Institute dating from the 1840's. 

1840s, American, Length: 37 in. (94 cm), C.I.52.48.1

1840s, American or European, C.I.37.64.10

1840s, American or European,C.I.38.23.285

A pair of drawers from the 1850's for comparison - notice that there is no cuff band on these drawers.

Fabric

The drawers are made of a firmly woven cotton fabric, very similar in weight to a modern cotton bed sheet. The cuff ruffle is made from a much finer cotton.

Measurements Total Length: 35¾" (90.8cm) Waistband: 1¾" (4.4cm) wide  by 24" (61cm) long Leg: 30½" (77.5cm) long Cuff band: 5/8" (1.5cm) wide Ruffle: 2.5" (6.4cm) wide
	Front, laid flat	Folded, displaying the line of the front	Folded, showing the shape of the back
	Detail of the lower leg	The drawers held up to my waist for scale. (I'm 5'6" and these are longer than my capris)	Chain stitch on one side, running stitch on the other.

The Legs

The crotch and legs of these drawers are cut very similarly to the drawers found on p. 77 of Cutting out and dressmaking by Mademoiselle. E.Grand'Homme, 1875 [(Google Books link) | YWU Download Link ] . However the drawers found in Cutting out and dressmaking are not as long and there is no mention of cuffs. The Workwoman's guide (1840) on plate 7 has similarly cut legs with a cuff.

The drawer legs are joined at the back with a very short (6.5" or 16.5cm) back seam. The leg openings are faced with strips of fabric cut on the straight. Some of the outer edges on the facings are selvedge. When the edge is not selvedge, the raw edge is turned under ¼" (6mm).

The facings extend along the entire length of the opening,  varying in width from 1½"-2½" (3.8-6.4cm). They match perfectly at the back seam, but do not match at the lower leg seam.

The legs are joined only at the very short (6.5" or 16.5cm) back seam.	The front side facing	The back side facing
The facing covers the back seam for a depth of 3" (7.6cm), stitched down with fine hand stitches.	The facings at the bottom of the leg don't match up perfectly	The facings still have the basting stitches that were used to hold them in place while they were top stitched by machine.

Cuffs 

The lower legs are decorated with three clusters of three tucks each, a cuff band and a very fine hand embroidered ruffle. The tucks on the legs are unevenly spaced, and were sewn on the same machine as the drawers.

The button appears to be milky white glass.	The buttonhole was done by hand and the edge of the cuff band whip stitched to the band on the inside.	The tucks on the legs are unevenly spaced, and were sewn on the same machine as the drawers
Inside view of the cuff band, button side. The top stitching is not visible from the back side.	The inside band was not sewn by machine, but was stitched by hand using large stitches.	The edges of the lower leg opening were finished by hand after the leg seam was sewn. The leg seam was finished by overcasting the raw edges by hand.
The ruffle is made from very fine cotton embroidered with Broiderie Anglaise, which was hugely popular in the 1850's. The ruffle appears to have been reused from another garment as there is a seam in the middle of one of the ruffles.

Waistband The waistband measures 1¾" (4.4cm) wide  by 24" (61cm) long when finished. It consists of a wider strip sewn once to the gathered drawers, folded over the top and whip stitched down. Then it was top-stitched on the outside.
	The drawers laid out with the waistband flat. The drawers button center front.	Buttonhole on the waistband, and the whip stitches at the edge to enclose the raw edges.
	The waistband seam, showing the hand done slip stitch, and back side of the topstiching (chain stitch)	A hole left where the button has torn out.

Method of Construction

The method of constructing the drawers appears to have been as follows:

• Make tucks in lower leg
• Apply facings to front and back edges of leg openings and top stitch on the long edges. Finish lower leg edge by hand.
• Sew inner leg seam,  Overcast raw edge.
• Finish edges of lower leg opening by folding over edge and overcasting it.
• Gather lower edge of leg and sew to cuff band.
• Gather edge of ruffle and sew to cuff band.
• Press seams toward middle of cuff band and top stitch around all four sides of band.
• Apply and sew inner cuff band down by hand.
• Sew back leg seam. Finish raw seam edge with a hem stitch, so that the seam lies flat against the back of the drawers.
• Sew down edges of facing over seam.
• Gather top leg edge and apply waistband. Sew down by hand, then top stitch by machine.
• Make buttonholes on waistband and legs. Sew on buttons.

Do you think I got the dating of these drawers right? I'd love to read your comments.

Notes

[1]p78, Hounshell, David A. From the American System to Mass Production, 1800 - 1932: The Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States. Studies in industry and society, 4. Baltimore [u.a.: Hopkins Univ. Press, 1997. Print.]

[2] p124 Clark, David K. The Exhibited Machinery of 1862. A Cyclopedia of the Machinery Represented at the International Exhibition. 1864