I have a copy of an 1820 cabinet maker’s guide where most of the information on staining wood goes back to 17th and 18th century. It talks about the necessity of applying a base coat of finish, before staining, to ensure the stain will go on evenly and not get sucked into the end grain and cause it to look blotchy.
Gus
Does your book offer any details about what types of wood, finish or stain are under discussion? I ask because my experience has been that just about anything that gets onto wood - previous finishes, glue traces that you have "removed", even sweaty fingerprints, can cause more problems than I want to deal with when it comes to applying stains.
Having said that, I do remember being told that it can be helpful to dampen some timbers with a sponge before using water based stains, but that's hardly a finish!
Habitually curious I'm afraid 
Hi Dave,
Of course I can’t easily find the booklet I mentioned earlier now that I’d like to. I got the book from the little bookshop at an historic 1760’s era large home (open as a museum) we visited near I think it was near York, PA about 10 to 12 years ago. We were way early for an appointment, so we visited the home to burn up some time.
What was remarkable to me was the fact the author copied both 17th and 18th century information word by word in some sections with no regard for at least mentioning who wrote the information originally, let alone worrying about plagiarism. That is how one can tell the earliest portions of the book by the type of English used, though the author states the information came from both centuries as well as more “modern” information of the early 19th century.
The woods discussed include mahogany, walnut, birch and pine; though I don’t remember if it discussed other woods like oak. (It may have and I just skipped over it.)
Wood finishes included Milk Paint, Wax (both hard and soft), Linseed Oil and various types of varnishes as well as the then “newer” shellac finish and some basic formulae for them, though not exact enough to replicate.
The stains mentioned discussed various types of mordants, though the casual manner of mentioning them and any recipes for any of the stains and finishes can not be followed as the descriptions are vague at best. I was struck by similarity to my own Maternal Grandmother’s household “book” that had recipes for food and even floor and furniture cleaners from the 1920’s and 30’s.
IOW, the book was written most likely by someone who was not in the trade, but rather a fairly detailed study and far more detailed than say Diderot’s Encyclopedia. It seemed clear to me the author had visited more than one shop and probably visited a good number of them.
Still, the book was good for a few “real gems” of information like applying one layer of finish (linseed oil with lead in it or varnish or shellac) then sanding it back before applying the stain to keep the staining process even and especially on end grain.
When the book surfaces again, I’ll PM you with the title and other information, if you would like.
Gus
