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1825 - 1885 - Reilly and the London Proof House


I've always been curious about when exactly J.C. Reilly became a "gun maker." He opened 12 Middle Row, High Holborn as a silver plate worker/"jeweler in 1814. In 1819 he allegedly entered a plate mark with the goldsmith's in London (unable to locate this mark - there is nothing to verify this unless he used "Charles" and left off Joseph)(apparently being allowed to enter a mark was a rite of passage - you just didn't walk into the silver trade and be allowed to put your initials all over the place). Then there is an 1829 advertisement which identifies him as both a gun maker and a silver plate worker.

However, this document seems to be pretty definitive evidence that by 1825 he was indeed a gun maker. I can't see the images of the plate itself. But here is the print record of the copperplate references to members of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers, London. (the London proof house)..listing Reilly, Joseph Chas - 1825.

https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.278485/2015.278485.A-History_djvu.txt
"THE PROOF PLATE OF THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY
OF GUNMAKERS





"This copperplate is traditionally supposed to have been stamped with the accepted makers identification mark used by a maker when he was admitted as a freeman of the Company. The mark would serve to distinguish his barrels from those sent in to proof by other makers.
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..

"The order of the stamps seems to be roughly chronological, although here and there Lter mprints occur out of order. The short but blurred top line dates back to about 1680, and the last line bears the stamps of gunsmiths of the last decade of the l8th century. In course of time and by the close scrutiny of marks on pieces in collections it may be possible to resolve the riddle set by the plate. I shall be interested to hear from any collector who can trace any of the marks which occur on the plate and are not among the makers marks given in this book. The photograph of the plate is reproduced by permission of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers of London.
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,, (Reilly references extracted)

1825-40 - Reilly, Joseph Chas. London
1832 - Reilly & Co. London
1850 - Reilly, Edward M. London
Reilly, 1882, London. Breakdown action revolvers of -450 calibre.

Edit: I cannot be sure this list is correct; the file in digital format is unclear.

EDIT: The below site purports to have the names of all members of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers and Reilly's name does not come up. Now whether the site actually has what it purports to have is another question.

https://search.findmypast.com/search-wor...sions-1656-1936

Last edited by Argo44; 09/23/18 03:47 PM.
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