Investigating whether Reilly's engraved numbering of pair guns stayed consistent over the years. The earliest pair specifically labeled "1" or "2" in the extant database is SN 21339 a #2 gun dated to 1878. However, there are no photos of the number on the web site. The first photo of a pair number #1 is my 16 ga. 27853 (1886). The first #2 gun example is SN 24956, 1883. There are numbers pictured for 35543 (#1) and 35536 (#2) both dated to 1907. From the montage below this seems to indicate that Reilly engraving of these numbers remained the same over the course of 20 years which in and of itself is a kind of marker.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

It's interesting that before the late 1870's there are no extant numbered pairs. I think driven shooting became popular in UK in the 1870's which may explain this; if there were no driven shooting, there would be no need for pairs or triples. In fact, the first Reilly advertisement for pairs and threes I've found so far is January 1882 - Royal Red Book ad. (There is a lot going on in this ad and is an perfect example of the value of researching them: It also shows
-- Reilly offering off the shelf guns as previously discussed,
-- promoting pigeon guns,
-- below line of sight hammers
-- using Hurlingham weights,
-- has the first mention of Whitworth steel barrels,
-- mentioned the Reilly private shooting range,
-- and also mentions the 1881 numbering convention for Oxford Street which changed in early November 1881).

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

A chapter has been added to the history reflecting the above:

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*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.

Last edited by Argo44; 07/23/25 08:54 PM.
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