What you are dealing with is most probably a material called Bakelite, a very early form of plastic/resin. This from Wikipedia:
"It is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from an elimination reaction of phenol with formaldehyde."
This is the stuff that turns brown when you expose it to the wrong solvents or heat. I'm guessing because of the formaldehyde element. You can stain it black, but it's still brown underneath.
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