My uncle made a set of book cases for my father with a pickled black finish
over mahogany. Assuming you are not interested in the pickling itself
(white filled pores) as I recall:

Watco Ebony stain with a pore filler to get smooth surface then lacquer.

The peices have taken on a fantastic greenish patina over the years.

On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 11:15:44 GMT, "Norm Dresner" wrote:

During the '40s and '50s mahogany furniture was finished to an almost black
color. (At least the back of the drawer fronts looks like mahogany to me,
though the rest of the drawer is clearly cherry). I'm trying to restore a
piece and need to recreate this finish. Anyone know what the process was?

Thanks
Norm