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*74 1878-81: Two outlier Trade Labels

There are two attractive floral outlier trade labels from this period:

. . . . .Label 1:*74a This is a label from Reilly .450 BPE SxS rifle SN 21369 (Serial numbered in 1878 per the chart).*74b The label is from 315 Oxford Street (pre-Nov 1881). It has floral capitals which more resemble those from UK gun labels in the 1890's.*74c

. . . . .Label 2:*74c This label is very similar to the above. It came in a case for SN 10354, a Reilly SxS muzzle loader shotgun from 1857, transformed per records into a center-break, U-L breech-loader allegedly in 1895-1904 (per the consigner).*74d However the label has the "502 New Oxford Street" address...pre-Nov 1881. It could be that the case is not original to the rebuilt gun or that the consigner's information about the date of the modification of the gun was wrong. It probably is the latter since it's difficult to imagine an owner completely transforming a muzzle loader to an U-L shotgun as late as the turn of the century.




*75 1869-1890: Reilly and Pigeon Guns

From the late 1860’s to 1890's Reilly was heavily involved in building pigeon guns. His first specific advertisement for a purpose built pigeon gun was in 1869.*75a His guns regularly won or placed at all levels of competition, his first recorded win being in 1872.*75b He regularly donated guns to be awarded as prizes in pigeon shoots, both at the most prestigious UK shooting clubs and at international events.*75c

In 1882 Reilly won the year-long Hurlingham “gun-makers’ cup” championship per the 1883 Holt’s Shooting Calendar*75d and followed that up with repeat wins in 1883 and 1884. Reilly’s pigeon guns from these early 1880 years were specifically built to match the Hurlingham weight limits and thus can be used, along with other data, as something of a sanity check on date markers for dating Reilly guns. Following are examples:

. . . . .For the 1882 season Hurlingham rules weight limit for pigeon guns was fixed at 8 lbs., The below Reilly pigeon gun was built in late 1881 for the upcoming 1882 season. It weighs 8 lbs. exactly and was serial numbered in December 1881; it was owned by noted SxS aficionado and helice marksman Cyril Adams:

. . . . . . . . . .SN 23574 (Dec 1881) - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). 12 bore; Shotgun SxS; S-L, Pigeon gun, third bite, hammer gun. Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" Whitworth Steel barrels; 8 lbs. (Cyril Adams) *75e

. . . . .For the 1883 season Hurlingham weight limit was reduced to 7 lbs. 8 oz. The below three Reilly Pigeon guns serial numbered in autumn 1882 were built to this standard, 24534 being a Cyril Adams gun:

. . . . . . . . . .SN 24365 (Sep 1882) - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). Shotgun SxS, 12 bore, top lever; Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" Whitworth steel barrels, pigeon gun. 7 lbs. 8 oz.*75f

. . . . . . . . . .SN 24534 (Nov 1882) - E.M. Reilly & Co., 315, Oxford Street, London. 12 bore SxS Shotgun pigeon gun; top lever, hammer gun; Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31” Whitworth steel brls. 7 lbs. 8 oz (Cyril Adams)*75g

. . . . . . . . . .SN 24650 (Dec 1882) - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London and rue Scribe, Paris. 12 bore, S-L, hammer gun. Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; Pigeon gun, 30” Whitworth steel brls. 7 lbs. 7oz*75h

. . . . .There is a Reilly pigeon gun built to "The Gun Club" standard weight in 1881 which was several ounces heavier than Hurlingham, which was previously owned by Cyril Adams:

. . . . . . . . . .SN 23355 (mid-1881) - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London & rue Scribe, Paris. 12 bore. Top lever, pigeon, hammer gun. 32” brls. 8 lbs. 14.5 oz.*75i



The Monte Carlo "Casino" pigeon shooting tournament in January of each years was regarded as a sort of unofficial world championship.*75j. A well known Italian marksman pigeon shooter Giuseppe Guidicini*75k using a Reilly pigeon gun placed 2nd in the 1884 Casino pigeon shoot and won it all for the 1885 season (shot in Monaco in January 1886). Reilly advertised his win in the London papers in January and early February 1886.*75l



The following quote is from Wyman's 1888 Industrial Encyclopedia on Reilly Pigeon gun success:

At the end of the 1882 season “Holts” Calendar gave the aggregate of winnings, of which the following statement was made about Messrs. Reilly’s guns.
--“Season of 1882, won at the principle shooting clubs near London – 17 Prize Cups, value £519; a Gold Medal, value £50; a silver medal and £6,148 in specie (equivalent to $750,000 today); which was nearly twice as much in prizes and specie as by guns of any other maker.”
-- In the season of 1883 Messrs. Reilly were again very successful, and gentlemen shooting with their guns at Hurlingham and the Gun Club won 16 Cups, value £505, and £3,162 in specie results which again placed Reilly a very long way in front of other gunmakers.
-- In the season of 1884 they headed the list of winning guns, their patrons securing cups and £3,982, nearly £3,000 in money prizes.
-- In 1885 they were also successful, 13 cups and £2,603 being the prizes won by their guns at the principal shooting clubs.
-- The Grand Prix du Casino, the principle "objet d’art" of the International Meeting at Monaco was won in 1886 by Signor Guidicini, the Italian sportsman who was second the previous season Besides the valuable trophy, estimated at 5,000 francs, the Signor won 18,250 francs, (about $200,000 today) killing 19 birds consecutively within the limited boundary, shooting with one of Messr. Reilly’s full-choke 12-bore pigeon guns, defeating seventy-four other competitors*75m


*76 1882: Reilly and Steel Barrels

Decarbonized steel was used for making barrels as early as the mid 1800’s but suffered from quality and durability. Usually a steel plate would be bent over a mandril and welded along its length from the bottom. However, in the mid 1860’s there were three almost simultaneous improvements in steel which ultimately translated into commercial sporting gun barrels.

. .-- in 1865 Whitworth took out a patent for “Compressed Steel,” a new way of making high carbon steel. It was revolutionary. But because of price (and possibly consumer resistance and snobbery) it was not integrated into sporting guns until around 1875 when William Powel & Sons used it for a few barrels. It was popularized when Purdey produced a matched pair of shotguns with whitworth barrels delivered in January 1880. Whitworth steel became so esteemed that the patent was extended in 1879 for four years *76a and after it expired, gun makers continued to put the Whitworth grain-sheaf stamp on their barrels as a sign of quality.

. .-- in 1866 Deakin & Johnson were making weldless rifle barrels from a steel block which was bored, rolled, stretched and annealed over and over again. It was far superior to a then current cheap technique of bending a steel plate and welding the underside. However, it was an arduous process. Powell had customers asking for these barrels as early as 1866. However Greener in his 1881 book “the Gun” confirmed that the procedure was long and expensive and that the firm making these barrels finally ceased trading in 1875. *76b

. .-- and in 1865 William Siemens set up “Sample Steelworks” to use the Seimens-Martin “Open Hearth” process. Again Powell had customers in 1872 requesting "Bessemer steel" barrels. His steel was in general use by 1875. Webley began using Siemen’s steel barrels around 1880.*76c

Note: By 1869 Arsenal began producing Snider-Enfields with steel barrels after the selected portion of Iron barreled Enfield rifle-muskets had been converted (Chapter IX: 51. 1866-1890’s: Reilly Builds Civilian Snider-Enfields). What type of steel was used in these barrels seems difficult to pin-down.

There are not many UK extant sporting guns from the early-mid 1870’s with original steel barrels. However Reilly by 1876 was making special-ordered steel barreled guns possibly influenced by William Powell. Reilly always wanted to be seen as open to new technologies.

The two extant mid-1870's Reilly guns with steel barrels are both .500 SxS BPE rifles. Both are extrordinarially well made and obviously expensive, top of the line. Who made these barrels and by what process is not known though one assumes these likely would be Seimens process barrels. (No specfic Reilly advertisement for steel barreled rifles have been found from that time period but he did advertise throughout the 1870’s that his guns used all the most up-to-date technologies).

. . . . .SN 19953 (1875): - E.M. Reilly & Co., New Oxford Street, London. 500 BPE. Rifle SxS. U-L hammer gun, steel 28” barrels. Round back-action lock. *76d

. . . . .SN 20674(1876): - E.M. Reilly & Co., 502, New Oxford Street, London & rue Scribe, Paris. 500 BPE. Rifle SxS. U-L hammer gun, steel 28” barrels. The barrels have a stamp “S.SM” which possibly could refer to Samuel Smith, who with his brother Charles were located in the mid-1870’s at 18, Oxenden street, Birmingham. *76e



The standard for steel barrels ultimately seems to have became Whitworth steel. In January 1882 Reilly for the first time advertised guns specifically equipped with Whitworth compressed fluid steel barrels. (The extended Whitworth patent expired in 1883 as mentioned, but the Whitworth “Grain Sheaf” trademark stamp was still placed by gun makers as a mark of quality.

. . . . .First Reilly advertisement for Whitworth compressed steel barrels; Reilly 1886 16 bore with the Whitworth grain sheaf trademark stamp *76f



Note: This advertisement is important for three more reasons - It has the old and new addresses for both Reilly workshops (the numbers changed in early November 1881) and it mentions Reilly selling ready-made "off the rack" guns or by custom fitting. In 1881 Reilly first announced he was selling ready-made guns; his serial numbered guns total topped 1000 guns in 1882 (Chapter Xi, 69). It also illustrates Reilly's sole distributorship of Sharpes Rifles in UK.

The first known Reilly shotgun with “Compressed Steel barrels” (per the advertisement), which are presumably Whitworth since no one else had “compressed steel,” is the above pictured December 1881 Cyril Adams pigeon gun:

. . . . .SN23574 (Dec 1881): - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). 12 bore; Shotgun SxS; S-L, Pigeon gun, third bite, hammer gun. Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" "Compressed Steel" barrels; 8 lbs. (Cyril Adams) *75g. Picture above

The first Reilly steel barreled gun, which actually pictures the “wheat sheaf” Whitworth trademark, is another pigeon gun from above SN 24365:]

. . . . .SN 24365 (Sep 1882): - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). Shotgun SxS, 12 bore, top lever; Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" Whitworth steel barrels, pigeon gun. 7 lbs. 8 oz.*76h

As late as 1888 WW Greener in his book Modern Shotguns stated that Whitworth Steel barrels were not as strong as high-quality Damascus. Reilly for his part continued to use Damascus for the majority of his barrels up to the early 1900's. By that time the Damascus blanks came from Liege.


*76A 1878-1885: Reilly Builds Pairs and Triples.

In the mid to late 1870’s driven game shoots first became popular in the UK. The need for rapid re-loading and evidently competition between upper scale shooters on these game shoots apparently created a demand for pairs and trios of identical guns that could be fired and passed immediately to a reloader whilst an identical gun would be put into play. These guns would be numbered “1,” “2,” “3,” and for many makers (not all, Boss being a prominent exception) would carry consequetive serial numbers. They were meant to be identical in all respects, weight, caliber, length of barrel, LOP, drop, trigger pull etc.

The first Reilly extant gun with a number is a #2 gun with SN 21339 dated to 1878. This might have been a special ordered since there is not another extant pair-numbered gun until 1883, SN 24956 (#2). Reilly did not begin to advertise pairs and trios until January 1882. After 1884 pairs became increasingly common and continued to be so until Reilly declared bankruptcy in 1912.

An analysis of the engraving of the numbers on numbered pairs seems to show continuity over the course of 30 years from the beginning of sales until bankruptcy.


*77 1853-82: Reilly endorsed by prominent explorers and hunters

Throughout the 1870’s and 80’s Reilly published endorsements of his guns by famous big game hunters and explorers in his large advertisements.**77a.

Top: 1878 ad from Paris Exposition catalogue.
Bottom: 1880 advertisement.


These included:

-- Henry Morton Stanley, the Welsh-American and perhaps the most famous of all African explorers.*77b. He searched central Africa for Livingstone (“Dr. Livingstone I presume”), became the first European to descend the Congo from Lake Tanganyika and then returned to lay out the posts for the King of Belgium that assured control of the Congo, etc.



. . . . .Quote from How I Found Livingston:

. . . . . . . . .“For the rifle , with due deference to old sportsmen, of course the best guns for African game are the Lancaster and Reilly rifles.”*77c

-- Dr. David Livingstone:*77d British missionary and noted African explorer who traveled widely in southern and central Africa, being the first to traverse the continent at that latitude. He searched for the source of the Nile discovering numerous lakes and rivers in what is now Tanzania, Malawi, Congo and Zimbabwe. He disappeared in the late 1860’s for 6 years 4 of which he was ill, prompting huge European interest in his fate. Stanley set out in an expedition sponsored by his newspaper the New York Herald and found him in 1871.



. . . . .Quote from How I Found Livingstone:p.58.

. . . . . . . . . .“...during the time I traveled with Dr. Livingstone the Doctor lent me his heavy Reilly rifle with which I seldom failed to bring an animal or two home to the camp….. The feats related by Capt. Speck and Sir Samuel Baker are no longer a matter of wonderment to the young sportsman when he has a Lancaster or a Reilly in his hand.”*77e

-- Frederick Selous, noted Victorian era African hunter and author:*77f Salous was an amazing man. He set out for Africa at the age of 19 in 1871 and became one of the most famous African hunters and later conservationists. His charisma enveloped everyone who met him including Theodore Roosevelt and it is believed he is the model for the "Alan Quartermaine" movies. He was killed fighting the Germans in East Africa in 1916 at the age of 65. Although Selous used mostly muzzle-loaders up to about 1880 he did take a Reilly rifle with him on his first trip to Africa (perhaps influenced by Samuel Baker); it was an U-L breech-loading SxS chambered for the .577 “boxer” Snider cartridge:

. . . . . . . . . .“Frederick Selous, 21, traveled light with just a blanket, a bag of cornmeal, two crude muzzle-loaders and two leather sacks–one for powder, the other for shot. His fine Reilly double rifle was stolen almost as soon as he arrived in Africa.“ *77g



-- Sir Samuel Baker:*77h the most famous Victorian hunter of all, of course, began using Reilly heavy rifles in the early 1850’s, had Reilly build explosive shells for him, and continued to use his Reilly connection to the end of his hunting life as previously mentioned.



. . . . .The Rifle And Hound In Ceylon (1853, republished in 1872 with the below quote):

. . . . . . . . . .”For many years I have been supplied with first-rate No. 10 rifles by Messrs. Reilly & Co. of Oxford Street, London, which have never become in the slightest degree deranged during the rough work of wild hunting. Mr. Reilly was most successful in the manufacture of explosive shells from my design; these were cast-iron coated with lead, and their effect was terrific.”*77i

. . . . .“Exploration of the Nile and Abyssinia.” (1868)

. . . . . . . . . .Among the guns Baker listed for his expedition were “Two double rifles, no. 10, by Reilly”*77j


*78 1882-1885: International Expositions:

1882 Calcutta Fair: Reilly exhibited at the 1882-3 Calcutta fair (a British Empire only affair) and won a medal.*78a

1884-1885 London Exposition: Reilly won a Gold Medal at the 1884 "London Exhibition" and was highly praised for his exhibit at the 1885 London International Inventions Expositions where he won a silver medal.*78b

Note there were three different international expositions in London in 1884-85;
-- An exposition at Crystal Palace;
-- the International Health Exposition of 1884; and
-- the International Inventions Exposition of 1885.
Reilly apparently won a gold medal at the International Health Exposition, although he publicized the medals only as “London Exhibition 1884.” The medals from the International Health Exposition appeared on his labels in 1885.*78c

Reilly also won a silver medal at the International Inventions Exposition, mentioned in several advertisements. However, the medals were never put onto his labels;

Reilly's exhibit at this exposition is described in Wyman:

“Messrs. Reilly & Co.'s stand at the International Inventions Exhibition of 1885 was acknowledged to have been one of the best appointed exhibits. (…..3 paragraphs of detailed description of guns found including .450 and .500 heavy double rifles, breech loading hammer and hammerless guns with ejectors, A&D boxlocks, Cape Guns, boys and naturalist guns, etc.…..)..helping make up a well-appointed miniature gun-shop in the Exhibition Hall”*78d.

Note: One Reilly "naturalist" shotgun exists from this period (a small gun made to take wildlife samples without tearing them to shreds):

. . . . .SN 25851 (1884:) E.M. Reilly & Co., 16, New Oxford Street, London and rue Scribe, Paris. Shotgun SxS. 410. Side lever, hammer gun. Naturalist's "sample" gun.*78e.