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1885 - Closing of rue Scribe

Reilly closed rue Scribe in late July 1885 not in 1886 as has been widely accepted (including by me)...this will require a re-doing of the number chronology above. This conclusion is based on reviewing advertisements in the London Press for 1885-86. Reilly posted virtually the same ad in "Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle" (Which became "Sporting Life" in summer 1886) every week for years. Here is the change in advertisements.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Jul 1885. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .08 Aug 1885



I think the assumption that Reilly closed rue Scribe in 1886 was caused by long-term advertisements in publications with a long-lead time, which were published yearly such as these.

. . . "Bradshaw's Railroad Guide (Paris) 1886. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ."Burke's Landed Gentry" 1886


The number chronology has been redone. There are also changes in dates in the narrative. "Gun-Maker" first appeared in Reilly advertisements in 1833 rather than 1834. The name of the firm switched in ads from J.C. Reilly back to "Reilly" in June 1840 rather than 1841, etc. Not a big deal except for historians since all I'm trying to do is date the gun serial numbers...but worth noting.

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1886 - rue du Faubourg, St. Honore revisited

In addition, here is likely the reason it has been claimed that Reilly opened a shop on rue du Faubourg, St. Honore in Paris. The ads for this event appeared in London papers on 28 Jan - 01 Feb 1886 only. These are the only references to rue du Faubourg and Reilly found. At virtually the same time - 30 Jan 1886 and 23 Jan 1886, "Bell's Life" published the usual ads in the above format without mentioning rue du Faubourg. The conclusion must be that 1) either the ad was place by the winner of the competition Signor Guidicini and it was he who made an error - the competition was in Monte Carlo (Monaco) after all. or 2) the rue du Faubourg address was indeed on the gun, which means a branch on that street did exist at some time. More newspapers will be searched to look for ads to determine when (if) it opened/closed; might have to go to Parisian Journeaux. Welcome any additional information on this subject. Edited: See p.21 for existence of Rue du Faubourg, St. Honore labels.

EDIT: The entire London newspaper database has been searched for the 1880's...in several ways, "Reilly," "Reilly and guns," "Faubourg," "Faubourg and Reilly," etc. The only references to Faubourg and Reilly are the below articles and advertisements which appeared in the "Sportsman" and "Morning Post from 28 Jan 1886 to 1 Feb 1886. There was a well-to-do English ex-Pat community on rue du Faubourg; English tailors worked on the street for years; there was a French gunmaking concern there as well. It was even then a prestigious address; Reilly would not have kept it secret. Thus unless someone has other information, it must be assumed that the rue du Faubourg address for Reilly in the below ads is not correct.

. . . . . . . . . ."The Sportsman" 28/01/1886. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."The Morning Post" 29/01/1886


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1885 - Reilly last guns at rue Scribe (repost)

The last extant gun with rue Scribe on the rib is 27340 (and I've not seen the actual photos).
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27340. (No photos)
E.M. REILLY &. Co.- Oxford Street LONDON & Rue Scribe - PARIS.: Hammergun Side by Side, 12 bore,gun number 27340 London proof mark.Price Euro 1.850. Both guns have damas barrel, owner say in good condition auctioned at www.czernys.com/ in 2005
https://www.internetgunclub.com/~inte8406/archived-forum/posts.php?topicid=288

Terry Buffum mentioned he had a couple of guns 27570 and 27854 which had "Paris" on their barrels (he said 27854 address was unclear). This also would change the chronology significantly if true but I hesitate to start moving things around until I can see the inscription..And there were a few intervening SN's without rue Scribe...There's a lot of "internet legend" around (although Terry can be counted on).
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27854. (no photos of rib)
http://www.amoskeagauction.com/110/133.php
serial #27854, 12 ga., 30" barrels with bright excellent bores choked full and full. This shotgun is built on a W. & C. Scott crystal indicator action with side clips and with each lock being engraved "E.M. REILLY & CO. / LONDON". The markings on the tops of the barrel are difficult to read but appear to be the E.M. Reilly & Company name and London address on the left barrel and a Paris address on the right barrel. The shotgun was part of a set and is numbered "2" in gold on dolls head rib extension and engraved on interior forend metal. The barrels are Birmingham nitro proofed for 2 3/4" shells with 1 1/16 oz. loads. The minimum wall thickness is generally .0245 with one small area that gets to .023. The action and locks show near full coverage tight English scroll engraving with a nice round flower panel on top of action. The barrels retain about 95% evenly thinning restored blue finish overall. The action and locks show an even gray patina and remain very smooth and free of pitting. The checkered straight grip walnut buttstock and splinter forend rate very good plus as refinished long ago. The gun features a 14 5/8" length of pull over checkered butt and shows drops of 1 1/2" and 2 3/8". The gun locks up tight and points beautifully. A neat crystal indicator sidelever Reilly Ejectorgun. (17147-176) {C&R} [Terry Buffum Collection]


Last edited by Argo44; 11/30/18 09:41 AM.
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