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Most original fihishes were done with sprayed tinted lacquer over filled (sometimes purposely tinted) and sealed base which may or not have received stain. Most casual restorers use rattle cans although this can get expensive for larger sets.

At the risk of being branded a Heritic, Polyurethane is a good choice for brush on and is also very durable if not entirely authentic. Don't think they had it way back when. Then again I remember Varnish a very long time ago, tinted or clear which yellowed with age.

If you have a compressor you can get a small spray gun and blast away with your gas mask on, and outdoors at appropriate temperatures and humidity levels. Major PIA to clean up paint guns, not to mention cost of solvents, so I like to do a couple of pieces at the same time.

Oh yeah, good old shellac works nicely as a sealer and you can usually do a couple of coats in an hour's time because it dries very quickly. Brushes or gun cleans up in a solution of Household ammonia, so you only need alcohol to cut shellac to desired strength. I think stock 3 pound solutions of brushing shellac are a bit thick for guns, but thin it out too much and it will surely run. I really like to use gravity to help out with settling in of finishing materials.

What ever, You can always reduce the gloss with pumice or very fine steel wool to get the look you want. Short of fatal veneer attacks with a belt sander, nearly everything is somewhat reversable.

There is tons of threads here on different ways to refinish, and the combinations and permutations of materials, as well as techniques and perils can make for many hours of reading. Heed manufacturers warnings about what cannot dependably be applied over what.

Finally if you haven't done any of this in a while, or ever, try taking a small less valuable piece to experiment on. Little tables, etc... can be had at a thrift store, or on the curb on trash night, or maybe in your cellar/attic.