doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 1995 Reilly double-rifle. Patent? Proof Marks?

Thanks to all. I've been unable to get additional usable photos so far from Terry - looks like a downloading problem. However, Justin pointed out that if you turn the image of the Patent number upside down, it does indeed read 4289 and is the Deeley patent ejector system: (kind of need to smack myself in the forehead):


As for whether Greener built actions for Reilly, the history needs to be read again since this was pretty much its point. The story of Reilly being a retailer or finishing other's actions is hard to kill. However, all the evidence from years of work point to Reilly making his own guns and paying license fees as needed.

The Greener triple wedge cross bolt was patented in 1873 and the patent expired in 1887. There was no need to have a Greener patent use number on this 1895 gun. It was not that difficult to build and there are several existing Reilly's using that system..

There is surely one pretty firm exception to the "Reilly built his own serial numbered guns" thesis: In 1881 he announced that he was going to sell guns off the rack and simultaneously began to advertise the box lock. Surely like everyone in the London gun trade he got his actions from Birmingham and finished them in house. The evidence supporting this is circumstantial but compelling. Throughout the 1870's Reilly was making and selling around 650 serial numbered guns a year, more than Holland & Holland and Purdey combined. His two large workshops had plenty of floorspace but this looks to have been their manufacturing capacity. Suddenly in 1882 it jumped up to over 1,000 a year with no increase in space. Looking at the extant Reilly's from that period about 35% are boxlocks which would fit the above postulation - 650 fully manufactured guns - 350 actions imported from Birmingham and finished.

The action that Para posted SN 26885, would be dated to 1885. If a Greener Facile Princeps system (Greener's copy of the Anson & Deeley box lock that he got away with), it should have a patent use number on it. I will ask Southams about this. It is possible that Reilly bought the action as he apparently did for his A&D boxlocks. I have not seen another Reilly with the Facile Princeps action. There is another Reilly using the Greener safety etc and a Greener "Royal action" (no idea what that is), however; unfortunately the Serial Number is unknown::
http://www.gunsinternational.com/gu...ique-action-ejector.cfm?gun_id=100444651


There is one other action from this period that he also might have sourced from Birmingham, the Scott triplex action Pat 761 with Perks, crystal indicators. However, the Reilly's using this action, and there are several including one I own, do have patent use numbers on them.


Anyway as usual the observations and knowledgeable commentary is unique to this board. I'll query Southam's about 26885.