[Arran]

It's French walnut, plain cut rather then quarter cut, as some Philco cabinets used that, it's tricky but I would try patching it, in fact you could try replacing the center section, where the chips are, and use that to patch the area at the lower part of the picture. If you can make the patches blend in with the grain of the wood that would make it less noticeable, like following the rays and such. Bob Andersen tried using the paper backed veneer on a G.E Television cabinet, but then he had problems with it, I think with the finish cracking or something.
Regards
Arran