In 1863 Albany, when it came to funeral supplies, J.W. Netterville had it all. His residence and wareroom at 118 S. Pearl was probably about in the vicinity of Madison Avenue; little of Bleecker Street remains in the Pastures, but it was only a short walk away. As we’ve noted before, it wasn’t uncommon for undertakers to also be in the furniture business; a cabinet is a cabinet, after all. And it only makes sense that they’d be in the shroud and hearse business as well. But this is the first time (and perhaps, we’re hoping, the only time) we’ve found an undertaker advertising that he has on hand “A Refrigerator for preserving deceased persons, ready at all times.” Given that this was 1863, keeping someone on ice wasn’t just a phrase.
Interesting to note that he was also the superintendent of the city’s cemetery vaults.
A very weak drawing of one of his pieces of (non-coffin) furniture appears in “A Field Guide to American Antique Furniture.”