Any ideas on what finish this is?

[conny]

My wife picked up a 'Campaign Desk' from a charity shop this morning, (well strictly speaking, me and my son-in-law picked it up, my wife just chose it).

It now sits resplendent in her 'office' and she loves it. However, there are a few scratches and marks on it, (see second photo of drawer front), which we want to polish out but don't know what the finish is. Does anyone know if it is shellac, varnish or something else please?
The desk is genuine wood throughout, not melamine faced chipboard or any other man-made modern stuff. All drawers are dovetailed, and all fittings/furniture seems to be brass. Even all the small screws are almost dressed perfectly. So, as it has been so carefully made, we want to use the correct stuff to try and renovate it a bit.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

 

[foxhole]

Looks like it’s lost some varnish , would remove brass work, sand back ,revarnish .

 

[Deleted member 174758]

French polish (shellac) is fairly unique in that it dissolves with metylated spirits. Try seeing if the finish in an obscure area will rub away using a cotton rag soaked in meths. French polish can be rejuvinated, so I don't think you should take the Phillistine approach of sanding and varnishing before you have established the exact type of finish you have

 

[conny]

It looks as though a swivel chair has been rubbing against it because there is a similar patch on the right hand side. I can try the meths on the underside of the desk or the back of the unit as it is treated all over in the same finish. Thanks J&K

Looks like it’s lost some varnish , would remove brass work, sand back ,revarnish .

The brass work needs a good polish so they will all be removed in the near future and done.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

You need to make a matching case for her PC, or over-clad it to match.

 

[Mottie]

That’s a nice looking desk.

 

[RepairingDave]

I depends on how good you want to finish to look and if you mind being able to see that there has been damage in the past.
You could build up layers on furniture wax or try some like wax repair sticks on it.

If you are going to the effort of removing all brass work ten you might want to go to the next stage and do some thing like in this video on YouTube "Save a French Polish"