I have an bathroom stool/linen press, like a box on legs with a hinged cork-covered lid that doubles as a seat. It was made in 1949, AFAIK. I thought I'd strip the old paint off, as it was not applied skilfully, and there are numerous runs. Looking at it, I thought "Oh! it's just made of hardboard.", BUT on ingestigating with my pen-knife, to scrape away some layers of paint to see what colours it has been, it seems to be made of a hard grey-ish material, with some fibrous content. A slight "dimpled" pattern is discernable under the paint, in places. Could it be asbestos of some kind? The panels of (whatever) are framed in timber, so contribute little structural strength.
J.B.