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

Just a reminder of the ferment of UK gun making in the early 1860's is this Reilly Enfield percussion 2 band rifle-musket SN 11418 numbered in early 1860 and converted to a Snider after 1866. Arsenal did not convert Enfields made after 1859 for the military. Reilly did of course for sporting use but this one would have made the cut anyway. There is a chapter on Snider's in the history above, p. 94 which is as good a short history of the Snider as one can find:
. .IX: Reilly, Arsenal and the British Army: 93
. . . . .51. 1866-1890’s: Reilly Builds (Civilian) Snider-Enfields

https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lot...illy-London-57/415-volunteer_snider-03.7



(The "engraving" must be pitting).

This will only change the history a bit but is so interesting it's worth a post. This is a JC Reilly air gun from 316 High Holborn...early 1840-ish - the name changed to "Reilly" in August 1840. But it is not an "air cane." It is a full blown rifle of the type carried by Lewis & Clark and tried out by various armies never before seen with a Reilly name on it. (The use of our history and calling JC a "gunmaker" is gratifying): Edit: Sold: $10,000 USD
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...queryID=a03d12085c5238bb644fb3493b28a628



Desirable Game Scene Engraved Girardoni System Repeating Stock Reservoir Sporting Air Rifle with Case Inscribed "F. Baring" and Air Pump This Girardoni pattern repeating air rifle is signed "Herzberg am Harz" on the lock, indicating the lock was made by an unknown German gunmaker. The screw-off buttstock air reservoir is signed "REILLY 316 HOLBORN LONDON IMPROVED" around the threaded joint section in reference to London gunmaker Joseph Charles Reilly listed as active at that address between c. 1837-1847. The Girardoni (sometimes spelled "Girandoni") is easily the most famous early air rifle or windbuchse largely thanks to the fact that for many years it has been associated with Lewis & Clark and their famous Corps of Discovery Expedition. It is widely believed that they either had a Girardoni or a very similar design by Isaiah Lukens of Philadelphia. The Girardoni was designed by Bartolomeo Girardoni around 1779 and is also significant as one of the first widely used repeating martial arms, with a magazine tube on the right side of the barrel for use with lead balls and a breech block that is able to be pressed sideways against spring pressure for loading/repeating capability. They were notably used by Austrian sharpshooters from 1787-1815. Because the air tanks took around 30 minutes of pumping by hand to bring to full pressure, the riflemen had assistants that repressurized the reservoirs initially and later also had more efficient wagon mounted pumps. "Wind guns" had several advantages over conventional firearms including that they were quieter, smokeless, quicker to reload, and relatively unaffected by rain. They also required less cleaning since they did not require corrosive black powder. This attractive example is chambered in approximately .40 caliber/10 mm and features an octagon barrel with eight-groove rifling, blade front sight, two leaf notch rear sight, high quality engraving with a game scene on the top of the gold finished frame and a star pattern motif on top of the breech, a walnut stock with carved patterns along the sides of the ramrod channel and checkering beneath the grip area, horn forend tip, and a shagreen wrapped metal buttstock air reservoir. Includes a period fitted wooden case with green felt lined interior, brass handle and plaque on the lid inscribed "F. Baring" and containing an air pump. Included consignor notes indicate the inscribed name on the case may belong to a Captain Francis Baring, Fusilier Guards, Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General, attached to the Light Division. More information on Girardoni air rifles can be found on pages 598-601 of the book "Blue Book of Airguns, Thirteenth Edition".

Added this to the history p. 94 of this line:
Chapter II: 316 High Holborn: 1835 – 1847
. . .8. 1840's: Air-guns

"There is one pure air-gun Rifle with JC Reilly’s name on it and the 316 High Holborn address probably marketed/made around 1840 which is not an air cane; it is Girardoni-style military rifle as carried by Lewis & Clark and used by various armies including the Austrian army snipers."



Can anyone shed light on what is going on in the "game scene" engraving? Looks like some sort of varmit out of hell.

Mike Harrells beautiful SxS .500 BPE with steel barrels and Dr. Drew Haus's research has led to this change in the Reilly history...p. 95 above
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...lat&Number=650827&gonew=1#UNREAD
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=650684#Post650684


-- Chapter Xi - 1880's; sub-chapter
. . . . .76 - Reilly and Steel barrels

*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. However, in the mid 1860’s there were three almost simulataeous improvements in steel which untimately 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) 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, 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. Seimens 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 1876 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 (1876): - 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 20764(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.



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.