Red Velveteen and Hessian Chair

I'm not really sure how old this chair is and apart from the memory of having bought it at a car boot sale several years ago, I have no idea of its provenance. It is quite worn and bears marks on the seat which suggest that it has been sat upon a good many times.
It has four black wooden legs and was one of a pair so any cinema seat theories are out. The underside is faced with Hessian which suggests the days of Empire or perhaps even Dundee's Jute Jam and Journalistic heritage.
I would like to think that it comforted the bottoms of the rich and famous. I may therefore be in the exalted company of Gladstone, Victoria or even General Hiram Ulysses Grant.