John Shea awnings
1905: John J. Shea was down on Broadway, manufacturing pretty much everything you could manufacture from canvas: awnings, coal bags, tents and flags, horse and wagon covers, feed bags, hammocks, etc. Not only did they rent canopies for weddings, balls and receptions at reasonable rates, they also rented “Men in Livery to attend Carriages.” They had everything in the canvas line, and were on both telephone systems — in the pre-monopoly days, there were two telephone companies in Albany.
