100 years ago 'stain' was often aniline dye.
It penetrates the wood slightly (1/32 to 1/16 ich) depending on hardness.
Most modern products sold as 'stain' are pigment stains. They are finely ground pigments and are basically thin paint. Some products add some dye to the mix.
Shellac is available in a number of colors/purities.
ÂButton lac is about the darkest, and 'Blond the lightest.
Shellac is very easy to apply, easily repaired (just apply more), and makes a good finish were water resistance is not required. If you want to try shellac purchase some 1x pine and practice applying it. It must be laid on quickly and smoothly and you cannot brush back over an area. It skins nearly instantly and dries in a matter of minutes.
The Âwild grain may be an intended art of the original décor. You are of course free to tone it down.
A wash coat of shellac (2 pound cut) followed by a light sanding (200 grit) and then stain or dye. Follow up with shellac (light or dark), semi-gloss polyurethane, or even brushing lacquer (Deft clear wood finish is a good one).
If you want to keep the wild grain, omit the wash coat of shellac.

re: dyes often used 100 yrs ago instead of stains-- hey now thats news to me. That would explain the original color-- its much more intense a dark red-brown than I seem to be able to find in the modern stains (like Minwax, etc.)

Do you think this would work-- remove some but not all of the existing layers of shellac, apply stain or dye over, then final coat of clear finish. I was experimenting this weekend with partially removing it with very light sanding w/ fine sandpaper (to remove the bumps and blobs) and furniture refinisher. The remaining shellac rehardened into a more even coat which actually does not look too bad but its lighter now and I think I'd like a darker color. 'Ive never used dyes before, are they tricky to apply evenly? Will definitely be experimenting first but want to know what to expect.

thnx much