[Arran]

 It's kind of hard to describe, it's is a gloss but it has sort of a burnished look rather then a wet or a plastic look, sort of between a high gloss and a semi gloss, it seems to have been almost an industry standard except for cheap sets like a Philco model 81. I think that your cabinet may have been made by Kneitchel like my 10-60 was, it had that look I described at one time, some were made by Mclaggan, others by The Stratharoy company. Sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what it looked like when it was new, a nice gloss finish can go dull just from improper storage, or because of a buildup of wax or oil from previous owners adding furniture polish. I made a habit of rubbing the original finish on a cabinet down with Gojo cream hand cleaner, even if I planned to strip and refinish it, just to get an idea what the proper colours looked like. I think that gloss is always the best way to start, you can always make a high gloss semi gloss by rubbing it out with pumice after it cures for a few weeks, and skipping the rottenstone rub down, of course there are more modern alternatives for abrasives used by the auto body industry as well.
  With regard to the pilasters, I was thinking that you could try some sort of penetrating stain, either the stuff Mohawk sells, or the aniline dye Lee Valley sells. I've even used dark brown Rit fabric dye just to darken the blond wood before adding the shading lacquer, then you need fewer coats, though the aniline is more effective.
Regards
Arran