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

Previously a Holt's auction advertisement for a Reilly .410 SxS was posted here with comments on the three other similar guns in existence.
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=666407#Post666407

In this regard here is once again Holt's putting up for sale SN 12251 (1862), a Reilly SxS cape gun muzzle loader. Reilly was one of the very first London gun makers to advertise this type of gun. There are 5 such muzzle loaders known to still be extant. Nice gun (Stock is worn and probably not redone - barrels look good - possibly rebrowned):
https://www.holtsauctioneers.com/as...+++534+&refno=++226376&saletype=
E.M. REILLY & CO., LONDON
A GOOD 25-BORE/.500 PERCUSSION CAPE-RIFLE, serial no. 12251,
for 1859, with expertly re-browned 30in. twist barrels the broad matted raised top-rib signed 'E.M. REILLY & Co. OXFORD ST. LONDON' within an arabesque white metal lined bordered panel, the top-rib also bordered with a white metal line and marked with similarly bordered one inch increments, dove-tailed bead fore-sight, 'Africa' style rear-sight with five flush folding notched leaves, each with platinum central line and a further shallow standing notch, shell engraved rib-end at breech, platinum plugs, borderline and scroll engraved elongated top-tang, borderline and scroll engraved bar-action locks signed 'E.M. REILLY & Co.', engraved hammers, chequered walnut pistol-grip half-stock (chequering worn smooth), engraved hinged patchbox to right side of butt, iron heel-plate, engraved moulded iron grip-cap, engraved iron trigger-guard tang and bow, single set triggers for both barrels, engraved ramrod throat, plain thimbles and nickel mounted iron ramrod (small pinned working repair behind right hand lock)



Here are the other four existing Reilly muzzle-loader Cape Guns. 12251 above is clearly the best of the lot; It's interesting that more cape guns have straight stocks than pistol grips; It might have depended on where the guns were destined to go - India and Africa - pistol grip for the rifle; Europe - straight grip for the shotgun:

11864 - E.M. Reilly & Co., London; 12 bore, .600 cal Cape Gun SxS; hammer gun, muzzle loader
https://auctions.holtsauctioneers.c...+++526+&refno=++146195&saletype=


12207 - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not legible); 17 ga/.488 cal Cape gun SxS; hammer gun, muzzle loader.
https://www.ozgunsales.com/listing/101684/e_m_reilly_cape_gun.html


12214 - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London;; 12 ga/.45 cal Cape gun SxS; hammer gun, muzzle loader.
Cape gun; SxS
https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lot...rial/961-varia_antiek-07.12.24-venduehui


13155 - E.M. Reilly & Co., 502, New Oxford Street, London. SxS cape gun; 14 bore shotgun/20 bore rifle. Percussion muzzle loader.
https://auctions.holtsauctioneers.c...++2049+&refno=++160145&saletype=


Edit: Terry Buffum sent a message that years ago he forwarded a pretty pristine Reilly muzzle-loader cape-gun to Australia. The importer whom he worked with subsequently disappeared. He doesn't remember the SN. So there is another one - someplace down-under.

The History mentions Cape Guns as a sub-sub-chapter; however, it might merit more attention since Reilly was one of the first, perhaps the first, to advertise such a gun in London in 1858. Chapter VIII has been further delineated in the Table of Contents of the history on P.94 of this line to assist in searches.




VIII. 1860 – 1867 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
. . .45. 1850’s-1895: Reilly Staff; Quality Young Employees
. . .46. 1861: Reilly Manufacturing and Sales
. . . . . . . .1861: Dougall “Lockfast” patent:
. . . . . . . .1861: “Double grip” - “Jones Underlever:
. . . . . . . .1859: Nuthall’s Patent:
. . . . . . . .1861: .451 Enfield target rifle
. . . . . . . .1861: .451 Enfield experimental rifling
. . . . . . . .1861: Capt. Scott's Patent Progressive Twist Rifling and bullet
. . . . . . . .1858: Cape Guns
. . . . . . . .1861: Bastin Lepage sliding action
. . .47. 1862: Reilly and the 1862 London Expos

Edit: Holt's was asked about the similarity of rifle gauge and shotgun bore - .25 and .500. Also which barrel is rifled (Reilly usually rifles the left barrel). Here is the response:

Dear Gene,
The cape gun appears to be authentic. I was wondering whether the right hand tube had been a rifle barrel as well originally but I don't think so. The '25-bore' is only a rough measurement with a carrot gauge and sadly the bores are not marked size-wise on the underside, so it could be taken as '24-bore' just as easily. Both bores seem to have had quite a lot of use, the rifled barrel is quite stained and frosted.
Robert

SN 15019

A gentleman in New Zealand has forwarded pictures of a Terry patent single-barrel breech loading rifle made by Reilly. The SN is 15019 (1868).




The only previously known extant Reilly-made Terry patent was 13132 and that is a SxS rifle.


Terry patented his breech loader in 1856. Reilly began advertising in in 1858 along with the Prince and his own centerbreak guns.


There was a battle in Indonesia in 1862 between the Pasha of Sarawak (the famous Rajah Brooks)’s “navy” and a fleet of Borneo corsair human traffickers. During the battle the Anglican Bishop of Sarawak proceeded to shoot 80 of them in the water with his Reilly Terry Patent SxS with “no hint of fouling.”


“Our weapons though few, were good and well served and, in justice to the maker, I must mention that my double-barelled Terry’s breech-loader, made by Reilly, New Oxford street, proved itself a most deadly weapon from its true shooting, and certainty and repidity of fire. It never missed-fire once in eighty rounds, and was then so little fouled that I believe it would have fired eighty more with like effect without wanting to be cleaned. When we ran down the last pirate all our ammunition for the nine-pounders was expended, and our own caps and cartridges for the small arms had neary come to an end so that if we had more pirates to deal with we should have been in a sorry plight and had to trust to our steam and hot water hose to do the trick. But the whole affair was most proventially ordered in our not meeting the six boats together, when their fire might have been too much for us; and then in their departing from their usual plan of rushing en masse to board; and by their separating and giving us the opportunity of ramming them down one after the other. We are indeed all most thankful to our Heavenly Father.”

His account created a firestorm of criticism in UK, without one whit of understand about the absolutely blood-curdling cruelty of the pirates being dealt with.

The Terry Patent breech loader was issued to the New Zealand Colonial Constabulary in 1863 in single barrel form; One must wonder if this gun were one of them and whether Reilly made them for NZ under contract:
https://www.armsregister.com/articles/articles_documents/nzar_a93_terry_rifle_in_nz.pdf

The following sub-chapter on Terry Patent breech-loaders made by Reilly has been updated:

. . . . .*31A -- Terry Patent breech loaders:

Per above Reilly by 1856 was marketing all kinds of new breech loaders and by 1858 Reilly was advertising Terry Patent SxS breech loaders. William Terry was a Birmingham gun maker who was granted a patent for a breech-loading rifle in April 1856;*31Aa The carbine was issued to the 18th Hussars and other British cavalry regiments in 1859, was used by Australia and New Zealand militia and by the Confederates in the War Between the States. Reilly made them under license.

A Reilly-made Terry Patent SxS rifle was used by the Anglican Bishop of Sarawak in 1862 sailing with the small three ship “navy” of Sarawak led by the son of Rajah Brooks during a confrontation with pirate ships off Mukdah. The Bishop said his gun had performed admirably and thanked the maker.*31Ab (The British press severely criticized the Bishop for participating in the battle without understanding the merciless nature of marauding slavers).*31Ac

How many Terry Patent breech-loaders Reilly built is unknown. Two guns still exist:
. . .-- SN 13132 (late 1863). It's a SxS 40 bore ( .500 caliber) "William Terry's Patent" SxS carbine. The gun has Birmingham proof marks, highly unusual for a Reilly (discussed further in the chapter on barrels). Terry had his workshop/factory in Birmingham and perhaps he proofed the barrels while Reilly made the stock and assembled the gun.*31Ad
. . .-- SN 15019 (1868)., a single barrel Reilly-made Terry-patent carbine (proof marks unknown but likely Brum), possibly one of the guns issued to the New Zealand Colonial Constabulary beginning in 1863 and used in a number of the fights associated with colonizing New Zealand in the 1860's.

It looks like the market has finally differentiated between Charles Riggs made "Reilly's" (1922-1950) and original EM and JC Reilly's (1828-1912). There are 8 Reilly's for sale on Holt's December sealed bid auction. The difference in price between the 2 Riggs Reilly's and the others, even the deactivated Reilly, is noticeable. Perhaps the history on this site has made a difference:

There is a JC Reilly hammer-gun muzzle loader for sale, SN 5810. This is the 6th, possibly 7th in the JC "5000" series uncovered and there is no longer a question of the numbering series. The question now is dating it accurately. The "5000" series or ""4500 series" has been addressed a couple of times. The upper cut-off date of 1847 has been established. When it began is a question. For the moment, because of serial numbers on pistols with 316 High Holborn, the best guess is to start the series at 1837. So for the moment then 5810 will date to 1845. This will be subject to further analysis.

Ramrod might be original. Normally you'd assume that barrels have been cut from 30" to 27.5" but 5759 also happens to have 27.5" barrels. This would make an interesting historical subject - did French-length barrels suddenly become popular in the 1840's in London or did shortening them become in vogue later? My own 5512 has 28" barrels with no sign of having been shortened.

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...queryID=56668865ef570bde1592cb4625103d19

DOUBLE BARRELLED 16-BORE PERCUSSION SPORTING GUN BY JOSEPH CHARLES REILLY, 27.5inch sighted browned damascus barrels engraved JOSEPH CHARLES REILLY 316 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON, border and scroll engraved breeches with platinum lined vents, border and scroll engraved barrel tang, border and scroll engraved signed stepped locks, the hammers decorated to match, half stocked with chequered wrist, border and scroll engraved steel mounts, the trigger guard decorated with a hound and with the serial no. 5810 to the tang, brass topped wooden ramrod.







History updated as follows Chapter III, sub-chapter 14:

*14 Hypothetical J.C. "5500" Serial Number series early/mid 1840's:

There are seven extant Serial Numbered SxS percussion guns ranging from 4573 to 6155 from apparently the late 1830’s to late-1840's which are very similar. Reilly apparently had a consistent “5000” serial number series of some sort. If so this would increase the number of guns made from 1835-48 by some 1,600.

It may be that J.C. and E.M. split their gun numbering series around 1840 when E.M. apparently became a full partner (and when the firm began using just "Reilly" in its advertisements) well before the move to Oxford Street, E.M. keeping the main-line series and jumping it to 8350 in 1847 and J.C. numbering guns with the 4500-6000 series and jumping those numbers to the 7000 series in 1846; Or it may be that J.C. Reilly created this serial number series around 1837 when he stopped numbering hand guns. More guns are needed to establish this point. (There is an upper date limit marker for this "series" - 5991 - which is post March 1847 from the address on the rib. However, there is no lower date marker for the series other than the 316 High Holborn address on the ribs - which could extend back to August 1835.)

. . . -- SN 4573 - c1841, a 7 gauge, smoothbore, short single barrel, dangerous game gun with "J.C. Reilly, 316 High Holborn, London" on the barrel. The gun appears to be from the 1840-1844 timeframe.*13a

. . . -- SN 5512 – 1843-47?, a 16 bore SxS muzzle loader shotgun, which has “J.C. Reilly, 316 High Holborn, London now 502 New Oxford Street” on the rib, the only gun found so far with both addresses and it would appear numbered around the time of the move. However, the two addresses are printed a slightly different font indicating 5512 may have been brought in for maintenance after the March 1847 move and re-engraved at that time; *14a

. . .-- SN 5580 – 1843-47?, a 12 bore SxS muzzle loader shotgun, which has “J.C. Reilly, 316 High Holborn, London” on the rib, (engraving and format very similar to 5512 above); *14b

. . .-- SN xxxx – 1843-47?, The engraving on 5512 and 5580 match remarkably to a 12 bore SxS percussion gun advertised by Christies with “J.C. Reilly, 316 High Holborn, Londonn” on the rib; The SN was unpublished, however, it could be part of this possible “5500 series.” *14c

. . .-- SN yyyy – 1843-47?, The engraving on 5512 and 5580 also match quite well a 16 bore Reilly SxS percussion shotgun with “Reilly, 316, High Holborn, London” on the rib.*14d

. . .-- SN 5759 – 1845-47?, a 10 bore SxS percussion shotgun, serial numbered “5759” on the barrels; no SN on the tang. No address on the flat filed rib; "Reilly" on the action. The seller speculated that the barrels had been rebored from a 12 bore rifle; The barrel is substantial and is stamped "12." The rib possibly was re-laid at that time and the scroll guard trigger/pistol grip tang replaced.*14e

. . .-- SN 5810 – 1843-47?, 16 bore SxS percussion shotgun, SN 5810 “Joseph Charles Reilly, 316, High Holborn, London” on the rib.*14e1

. . .-- SN 5991 – 1847-48?, a 17 bore SxS percussion rifle, serial numbered “5991” on the barrels. “991” is found on forend stock, hammers and ramrod. “Reilly, New Oxford Street, London” is engraved on the rib; “Reilly, London” on the side plates. The case has a post December 1847 Reilly label pasted over a Lang label from 7 Haymarket Street, from circa 1845-1848. If this serial number is part of the hypothetical “5500” JC series, then it may indicate that the series was continued for some reason into the late 1840’s and used along-side the new “7000” series. *14f

. . .-- SN 6155 – 1847-48?, a .550 bore SxS percussion rifle, serial numbered “5991” on the barrels which Reilly on the lockplate (no decipherable address on the highly rusted barrels. The SN is on the Tang behind the trigger guard.