doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com E.M. Reilly; History; Chronology; Serial Numbers

Extant list moved to p.44

Trade/Case label compendium: Moved to p. 44: For those selling, researching Reilly's - a simple Reilly label cheat sheet to accompany the "New History" above. (It's discussed in more detail in two previous posts). This is not written in stone - a label for EM Reilly Gun Maker (Oct 59-Aug 60) (6 below) was used on a gun dated 1863 (#12960). But it will get you close:



"Outlier labels" - all with "Gun & Rifle Manufacturers" on the label


Reilly Presentation Case labels:- Note change from "Gun Manufacturers" to "Gun & Rifle Manufacturers" to "Gun & Rifle Makers"; All using the exact same Fonts over 40 years.



Add this label to the above chart. Apparently the "Reilly's Armoury House" was used for 315 Oxford Street from January 1859 to October 1859; This label was then used from October/November 1859 to August 1860 when "Gun Manufacturers" appear and the separate labels were combined into one. The above chart will be remade:



And add this to the chart....it'll likely slot in between the JC Reilly "Removed from Holborn" "business card" label 1847-48..and the Label with the 502 New Oxford Street sketch...first noticed on an 1851 Adams revolver case. (Edit: Holt's believes this is a homemade label, not a printed one.)

==========================Moving the chains in the 7000 series numbers==================================
8186 - New last JC Reilly "7000" series gun. - "Veni Vidi Vici".

This gun just showed up - very similar to 8056. This gun increased by 130 guns the known total of the Reilly "7000" series numbers and required changing the dates on the blue labeled numbers and the history and gun total for each year 1848-57. But It's happened before...will happen again..when new "marker gun serial numbers" appear.

Officers going abroad purchased a Reilly military rifle for hunting, usually in military caliber, .577 in this time frame, so they could use service ammunition. This gun is built to .650. Perhaps he still used military powder charges but had it driving a bigger slug?
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/r...25-c-4ae44b8a5c

A GOOD .650 (FOR MINIE) SINGLE-SHOT MILITARY SPORTING RIFLE, serial no. 8186,
circa 1855, with browned ovoid 32in. barrel rifled in four grooves, the full-length flat sighting plane signed 'REILLY, NEW OXFORD STREET, LONDON', small dove-tailed blade fore-sight, elevating folding ladder rear-sight with additional standing notch and when folded concealing the Reilly motto 'VENI VIDI VICI' (I came, I saw, I conquered), plain colour hardened breech-block and top-tang with scroll engraved detail around the top-nail, plain colour hardened lock engraved with a martial trophy to the bar and a panel of scroll engraving to the tail, the bar further signed 'REILLY, LONDON', straight hand dark walnut three-quarter stock chequered at the wrist, blued iron furniture, short under-rib with turned throat and plain thimble, brass tipped iron ramrod and 'Brunswick' style bayonet bar to muzzle, much original finish remaining
Other Notes: This rifle is almost certainly a British Officer's private purchase piece.





(I've never seen Flag, shield, drum engraving on a Reilly - was it special ordered? Presented as a shooting prize?)

"Alea iacta est"..... Reilly - Part II

https://www.vintageguns.co.uk/magazine/the-life-of-reilly

Excellent, thanks! A good read, and I hope it encourages owners of Reilly guns to come forward with information.

This is in response to one of Argo's observations about Damascus barrels.

The John Rigby & Co barrel records for 1886 to 1936 survived multiple changes of ownership. This is some of what they tell us -

Rigby installed its last Damascus barrel in 1906. All but five of the Damascus barrels
installed between 1886 and 1906 came from HL & Cie. The barrel material was described
as "Plain" "Crolle 4-stripe" and "Turkish 6-stripe." Of the other five, two came from "BB"
(one in 1888 and the other in 1895). Three Damascus barrels were fitted in 1894 from "Saunders/English."

==============================================================================
35554 - SN dated 1907 per chart ..........Sanity Check.

This gun just appeared in the October 2019 Morphy Catalog. SN 35554; E.M. Reilly & Co., 295 Oxford St., London on the barrels. It is a double rifle chambered for .500/.465 Nitro Express.

https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/_C__...-LOT473830.aspx

In the date chart, SN 35554 would have been numbered in late 1907. The .500/465 Nitro Express is a large bore centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Holland & Holland and introduced in 1907. This will be added to the list of "Sanity Checks.". (Note: Morphy dates the gun as "1912"..Reilly went bankrupt in 1912; I've dated it late 1907 which seems probable.)





It's interesting to compare the engraving on 35554 to that on 35493 - I looks like the same engraver using the same style:

35493 (former Terry Buffum gun)

This is my first post here, and I came on to add another E.M. Reilly serial-numbered firearm. I recently was given custody of about 300 firearms, almost all are WWI era or 19th century. A family had their uncle die, and he had all of these firearms in his house, or in a museum in South Carolina. The family wanted to know if I could research the firearms, and then sell them for the family.

So, this has kept me busy for awhile. The Reilly firearm I have is what appears to be an officer model Pattern 1858 Enfield. The serial number engraved on the trigger guard is 12088. The engraving on the barrel is all but rubbed out, so I cannot make out the address. Using a set of calipers, the muzzle of the barrel is .45 caliber.

I cannot tell if the rifle has been "sporterized" with the forestock being removed from the rifle, or if it was made that way. The ramrod is just a metal rod, so it does not appear to be the original ramrod.

I am trying to figure out the price of this rifle so I can sell it online for the family. I do not make a dime on any of these rifles I sell for them, and my payment was just to let me choose one of the 300. I chose a very nice Remington Rolling Block in .43 Spanish caliber.

Unfortunately, I can't post any photos. I tried to find the "gallery" section of this site, but that is a no-go for me. I read directions that say to link to a url of a site with the photos, but I don't have a web page, just Facebook page. So until I figure out how to upload the photos, this message will have to be without pictures


Patrick O'Kelley
goober.com@juno.com
Author of the "Nothing but Blood and Slaughter" series,
Francis Marion's Orderly Book,
and Triple Canopy, Sniper in Grenada
Available at http://tinyurl.com/bluehousetavern

Welcome to the doublegunshop forum Patrick. We have some Reilly experts here...Geo

Welcome Patrick. And thanks for the info on 12088. I can walk you through how to post or you can send them to me in an e-mail (sent via PM) and I'lll post it for you.

Here are my thoughts on the gun. 12088 was almost certainly numbered the summer of 1861. It is most likely a .451 cal. rifle built on the Enfield pattern. The sporting fore grip is likely original. Reilly made a ton of Enfields and Enfield clones during this tine; the Civil War was raging - Enfields flew off the order books. Plus in 1859 in the face of a threatened invasion by Napoleon III, UK organized the Yoemanry militia who trained in locally raised units and armed themselves; Reilly was in the forefront of selling guns wholesale to these groups.

The address could be "Oxford Street," "502 New Oxford Street," or "315 and 502 Oxford Street," all three of which have been seen on post January 1859 Reilly made Enfield Muskets.

You will see a number of Military style Enfields with two or three bands tying the long stock forearm to the barrel. However, the .451 cal. guns almost all seemed to have been "sporterized" (excluding 12073 below which is a "3 band"). I have several more examples.

There are two points to make though: If he made the gun, it has a SN on it; If he only engraved and retailed it, it won't.

Why .451? Here are two Reillys from the chart above made in 1861 within a few days of your gun and almost surely nearly identical to your gun:

=========================================================
12073 - Which I've dated to summer 1861
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/e...0-c-9bb4d8f909#
A .451 PERCUSSION TARGET-RIFLE, MODEL 'MILITARY MATCH', serial no. 12073,
circa 1865, with round 36in. multi-groove barrel, the top at breech signed 'E.M. REILLY & CO. 315 & 502 OXFORD STREET, LONDON', replacement dove-tailed adjustable tunnel fore-sight (remnants of the original dove-tailed base remains), micro adjustable target rear-sight marked 'SUTHERLAND RIFLE SIGHT CO, NEW GLASGOW N.S.', octagonal breech section with squared breech-plug, moulded snail, scroll engraved top-tang with later Pedersoli vernier sight fitted behind, borderline and scroll engraved bar-action lock signed 'E.M. REILLY & CO. LONDON', sliding safe forwards of hammer, scroll engraved hammer breast, chequered walnut full-stock of military form, borderline and scroll engraved patchbox to right hand side of butt, iron furniture, three iron barrel bands, triple swivel set-up and jag-ended iron ramrod


=========================================================
12069 - again dated to summer 1861
http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auctio...99-a561010b95f5

A .451 PERCUSSION VOLUNTEER MILITARY TARGET RIFLE
E.M. REILLY & CO., 315 & 502 OXFORD STREET, LONDON, SERIAL NO. 12069, CIRCA 1870
With 33 in. (84 cm.) barrel rifled with five grooves, sighted to 1000 yards and retaining some original faded blued finish, border and scroll engraved lock, walnut three-quarter stock with chequered grip and fore-end, the butt with vacant silver presentation roundel and small silver escutcheon, and border and scroll engraved iron mounts, London proof marks


=============================================
As to value.... start with the above two websites to see what they sold for. I'll post links here to several more Reilly Enfields and Enfield clones, some of which may still work, which may have prices sold posted:

13165
https://auctions.holtsauctioneers.com/as...6&saletype=
E.M. REILLY & CO., LONDON
A .451 PERCUSSION MILITARY TARGET RIFLE, serial no. 13165,
Estimate �1,800-2,200

11716
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-f...un_id=101246940
.577 Presentation Enfield Musket
(Asking $6,750)

11651
http://www.millersantiquesguide.com/items/48760/577-snider-sporting-rifle/
.577 Converted to Snider.

No SN
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/48/152/british-percussion-twoband-short-rifle
.577 two band Enfleid
Estimate Price: $3,500 - $4,750

11419
http://www.prices4antiques.com/Long-Gun-...r-E8972721.html
.577 two band Enfield

11227
http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/civilwarantiques/1306webcat.html
.577 three band Enfield
Asking price $3,500

10621
http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auctio...87-a4f700ac96eb
.376 Sporterized Enfield clone - probably categorized as a "park rifle."

10619
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/print_sale.aspx?saleid=10537
A FINE .380 SINGLE-BARRELLED PERCUSSION PARK RIFLE BY REILLY, NO. 10619
Priced realized: �1,880 ($2,749)

Here's another probably .451 Enfield pattern Reilly from a Polish site - unfortunately no detail but you'll get the point.