==============continued from above=======================

Attempts to Curry Favor with the British Royal Family:

Throughout the 1860's Reilly guns were purchased by various members of the British royal family, usually to give as gifts to foreign dignitaries or persons who had done favors for the family. Reilly tried to obtain, but without success, a Royal Warrant as "Gun Maker to the Royal Family."

For a few months in 1863 Reilly published advertisements associating himself with the Royal Family based apparently on the purchase of Reilly guns by the Prince of Wales. He also spent hundreds of pounds on elaborate gas light decorations to his buildings on various Royal anniversaries and on the wedding of the Prince. He apparently was slapped down pretty quickly and after November 1863, such claims never again surfaced.

Note: The Reilly’s were Irish Catholic. E.M. at least appears to have been involved with the church and to have campaigned against religious discrimination against Catholics in UK. Whether this influenced his ability to obtain a “Royal Warrant” or even to win a contract with Arsenal is problematic.

Attempts to Win a Military Contract:

From at least the 1840's the Reilly's tried mightily to win a lucrative military contract from the British government.

-- Prince Patent Breech Loader: EM Reilly promoted the Prince patent breech loader in the late 1850's. This was probably the finest existing breech-loading rifle of its time. It outshot the newly adopted Enfield in 1855.
. . . . .- In March 1858 12 prominent London gun-makers signed an open letter in “The Field” urging Arsenal to reopen the army rifle competition in favor of the Prince. Reilly and Green did not sign the letter – Green was in partnership with Prince and Reilly probably had a financial stake in the firm, thus could not. However, in view of Reilly’s subsequent heavy commitment to making Prince breech-loaders and given E.M.’s shrewd business sense, it is entirely possible that Reilly provoked the whole exercise as a business ploy.
. . . . .- Reilly subsequently was one of several London gun-makers licensed to make the rifle.
. . . . .- The first Reilly extant gun made at 315 Oxford Street was a Prince breech-loading rifle SN 10811, one of three extant Princes built during a six month period. In fact, it appears that during summer/fall 1858 Reilly took another one of his technological market-place gambles by devoting significant resouces to build a quantity of Prince breech loaders, perhaps as many as 100 out of some 200 Reilly guns made during that period.

-- Green Brothers Patent Breech Loader: In January 1862 the Green Brothers C.E. and J., formerly in business with Prince, took out a patent for their breech loader action which could be adapted to the Enfield rifle-musket. EM Reilly obtained manufacturing rights to the patent and worked with the Green brothers to win an army contract for it. Reilly conducted an extensive advertising campaign for the breech loader beginning in March 1864. The Green Brothers breech loader was entered by Reilly in the Army competition for an interim breech loader in 1864-66 but lost out to the Snider. Per use numbers he built over 400 of these rifles over the next 4 years. The breech loader was popular before the Snider came into general use (adopted 1866) and won a lot of shooting contests in this period.
. . . . .- Reilly’s first extant manufactured Green-Bros breech loader is SN 12002 Patent use #1. 12002 is dated mid-1861 before the Green Bros even took out their patent; However according to the Royal Armories Museum, this gun was actually built on an 1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket 3rd pattern; the gun was obviously originally built as an Enfield percussion gun in 1861 by Reilly and selected to be modified into a Green Bros breech loader in spring 1864. It has a 39” barrel – susequent rifles used 24” barrels.
. . . . .- In May 1864 (per the dating chart) Reilly built extant serial number 13326 (use #16) and 13333 (use #23), shortly after he began advertising the gun. The serial use numbers show that he built at least 8 Green Brothers rifles in a row at this time and possibly more.
. . . . .- Reilly appears to have built Green Brothers breech-loaders in batches. In addition to the above mentioned 8 straight Green Brothers serial numbered guns, Reilly build 147 Green Brothers breech-laders in a six month period from September 1867 to February 1868, over 50% of his output during this period.
. . . . .- The fact that Reilly built these Green rifles using consecutive numbers may indicate he was experimenting with using parts that could fit multiple rifles and with mass-production techniques. This was called the “American System” and was being promoted in London by Arsenal at the time. The system did not arrive in Birmingham until the next decade.

-- Snider-Enfields: In early 1864 the armies of Europe were shocked by the decisive victory the Prussian Dreyse Needle Guns brought during the Danish-Prussian War. The British responded by conducting trials for an interim breech loader to replace the Enfield. Snider, an American, won the competition with a breech that could be adapted to existing Enfields and in September 1866 the Snider-Enfield was officially introduced. Snider’s continued in use for 60 years, and were entered in marksmanship contests up to 1920 in Canada and pre-war in Britain. A lot of Reilly serial numbered 1853 Enfields were converted to Sniders. However, Reilly also made and serial numbered Sniders in and of themselves, a number of which are extant) including one 8 bore .750 caliber big-game rifle.
. . . . .- SN 15021 (early 1868) is the first extant Reilly made specifically as a Snider-Enfield.

-- Reilly-Comblain Breech Loaders: In 1867-1870 he put forward the Comblain breech loader from Belgium, to which he gained patent rights in England, competing against trial guns such as the Martini and the Henry, a combination of which was later adopted by Arsenal as the follow-on breech-loader to the Snider. The Comblain was not actually accepted by the trials board as an entry in the competition; The board commented that they preferred other breech-loading options; it may be that the board thought the Comblain breech loading system too similar to and not necessarily superior to the Snider. Yet, per use numbers he built over 6000 Comblain's in UK over 5 years 1867-72. However, none of the Comblain rifles were serial numbered. He likely had them manufactured under contract in Birmingham. (6000 guns are far too many guns for civilian purchasers alone - see the Green Bros Breech loader above. These guns had to be made for a contract of some sort - who bought them and where they went is still a mystery.)
. . . . .-- The first existing Reilly-Comblain is use number #25.
. . . . .-- The last extant Reilly-Comblain is use number #6109 with E.M. Reilly & Co., Sole Manufactures, New Oxford St, London on the action.

-- Explosive Bullets: He patented an explosive bullet in 1869, a sort of early M-79 idea. Note: Sir Samuel Baker wrote in his books that Reilly made custom explosives shells designed by him for his use as early as 1853. In addition Reilly made explosive shells for BG Jacobs for his self designed long-range double rifle used by his Pashtun cavalry in Sind and Baluchistan (1854-57). It may well be that Reilly used this knowledge to create his explosive bullet.

However, he never obtained a major contract (as far as the present day evidence goes).

Reilly did sell and engrave British military rifles - Enfields, Snider's, Martini's and later Lee-Speeds; He hawked these guns to the Yoemanry Volunteer Militia and to rifle clubs at wholesale prices, versions of them to Military personnel going abroad and to big-game hunters for 50 years. But, unless he built them himself he did not serial number these guns.

Reilly builds Martini-Henry Rifles:

As an example, the history of Reilly building Martini-Henry rifles/actions is instructive. The M-H was adopted for trial by the Army in summer 1871. Reilly first tentatively advertised a "Henry-Martini" in early to mid 1871. The first true newspaper advertisement by Reilly for a "Martini-Henry" appeared in December 1871.

There are many extant Reilly-made Martini-Henry's in a half-dozen calibers, one being an 8-bore (cal .775), none with serial numbers. He engraved and retailed Martini-Henry and a variant Swinburn-Henry rifles made by others. He may have assembled rifles himself at 315 Oxford Street manufactury using actions and barrels built elsewhere. Yet, like Comblain-Reilly rifles, not one Martini-Henry has been found yet with a Reilly serial number. He apparently did not make these himself and he did not serial number retailed or assembled guns. (Reilly is not alone in this; the lack of a makers’ SN’s on Martini-Henry's may be ubiquitous across the trade; the reasons for this are not fully understood).

As a coda to this, in November 1874, the Henry shallow groove rifling patent from November 1860 was allowed to be extended for another 4 years to November 1878. It subsequently somehow (by a process not yet undersood) was extended again to November 1888. There was some speculation that the extension was tied to the Henry patent rifling being adopted by the military. In fact Henry received £5000 in 1872 from the British government for his patent and no more though he petitioned for a supplement. Certainly there are Reilly SxS rifles numbered in the 1880’s with Henry patent use numbers on them. Henry patents in the USA expired 15 November 1874 per court ruling.

Pin-Fire vs Center Fire

Center Fire inventions were available early in the history of break-action breech-loaders, Lancaster's patent from the late 1850's being an example. However the pin-fire won out for a variety of reasons. By the mid-1860's the advantages of a center-fire system for center-break guns became more and more evident. In 1866 the invention of the shotgun center-fire primer shell by Berdan in America and almost simultaneously by Boxer in the UK made center-fire shotguns practical and viable along with certain other inventions such as the Anson fore-end. In the 1867 Paris Exposition Reilly advertised center-fire long guns. However, center-fire systems did not apparently supplant pin fires until around 1872. Extant Reilly pin-fires far out number center-fire guns until that time.

. . .-- The first existing Reilly center-break center-fire long-gun is a 20 bore under-lever rifle with a Joseph Brazier action SN 13688 dated 1865.

. . .-- Reilly's first extant center-fire shotgun is SxS 12 bore U-L non-rebounding hammer gun SN 14115 dated 1866.

Note: One other invention from this time helped cement centerfire primacy, the invention of rebounding hammers patented by Stanton in February 1867. Most surviving Reilly guns both pinfire and center-fire from this age were later converted to center-fire with rebounding hammers. One would think this was the type of patent that would be immediately adopted. However, the majority of existing, original condition Reilly's up to the 1870's have non-rebounding actions. In fact there continued to be non-rebounding hammers on extant Reilly built guns up until the 1880's (just as there were Reilly built muzzle loaders). The London gun trade was extremely conservative.

Reilly and Purdey

To illustrate the state of Reilly fortunes and confidence at the time, in 1866 there was a widely reported dust-up between Reilly and Purdey. A salesman at Reilly reportedly told a client that essentially Reilly guns were the same as Purdey's but without the extra-charge for a name, implying Reilly made them for Purdey. Purdey was indignant and fired off an emotionally charged letter demanding retraction. Reilly not only rejected the charge but in an infamous poem, quoted several times the phrase "exactly the same"...thumbing his nose at the gun aristocracy. (This is not a way to win friends, obviously)

1867-1870: Reilly Takes on Paris, Again

EM Reilly always seemed to be enamored with Paris and as the 1867 Paris Universelle exposition approached, he meticulously prepared an exhibit that was extensively lauded. It won him gold and silver medals.

Note: Apparently the entire exhibit of Reilly guns at the Paris Universelle was bought by Grand Duke Constantine (son of Czar Nikolas I) and Count Nikolay Alexandrovich Orloff, who was then the Russian ambassador to Belgium, at the time the cockpit flash-point of Europe. (Russia and UK guaranteed Belgian independence)

This led him to became a "gun maker" for Napoleon III, and in February 1868 to open a branch office (EM Reilly & Cie.) at 2 rue Scribe, Paris where orders for his guns could be taken. The store was located in the Grand Hotel near the Gare du Nord, a prime location (British travelers to Paris arrived at the Gare du Nord). This branch office remained open for the next 17 years.

The first extant gun with 2 rue Scribe on the rib is 14983, an 8 bore SxS under-lever, hammer gun shotgun (with a firing system very much resembling the earlier Lancaster "base-fire" action - other observers note that it was very like the Pape patent with retractable firing pins).

Note: The French press in articles about Reilly in the 20th century has claimed that the artistic elegance and balance of a Reilly gun came from its association with Paris.

His case labels changed at this time to feature the two medals won at the 1867 World's Fair and often (but not always) mentioned both branch addresses.

Two and a half years later the Franco-Prussian War broke out. After the battle of Sedan September 3, 1870 Napoleon III fell from power - the Third French Republic was declared; the medals (with Napoleon III's profile on them disappeared from Reilly's case labels for awhile yet continued occasionally to resurface on both labels and in advertisements for the next 15 years.

Note: Napoleon III died in exile in England in 1873. His widow Empress Eugenia bought a Reilly 12 bore SxS shotgun, while in England SN 17532 (dated per the chart to mid 1872), and a second Really 16 bore (SN unknown) both of which are now in the USA somewhere. Her son was killed in the Zulu Wars in 1879. She died in 1920 having been awarded the Order of the British Empire.

Reilly's affinity for France was well known and commented on in London newspapers at the time. (Was this possibly an Irish-French Catholic connection?)
-- A French woman was found in his house in the 1861 census;
-- In Fall 1870 he was prosecuted for attempting to smuggle 2,000 shells to his rue Scribe address, a violation of UK neutrality in the conflict; The London press commented to the effect that this Reilly-Francophile affinity was inevitable (i.e. Reilly "couldn't help himself."). Reilly maintained that the French Republic had invaded his store and confiscated all the guns; he dared not resist their insistence on ammunition. (The cartridges in question were for Snider .577 sporting rifles in Reilly’s inventory in Paris. What happened to his shotguns is unknown).
-- and in 1871 Reilly offered to sell 6,000 Chassepot rifles (stored in Birmingham) to the new French Republic. (Obviously the rifles were to be sent to France via some sort of back-channel; the French parliament - really a sort of 3rd Republic "Revolutionary Committee," hesitated over a few centimes of commission - the opportunity was lost).
-- There are Reilly trade labels from the period where the owner of the gun has taken pains to erase the Paris address - Francophobia was alive and well in UK.
-- And with this long-time connection, one must assume that early on, after the 1851 exposition, EM was in contact with French center-break breech-loader makers and must have been experimenting.
- He had contacts in Liège (as did Trantor or perhaps through Trantor) possibly as early as the 1850's. Whether he spoke French is unknown.

1868-76 Miscellania: New Labels and Descriptions

Around 1869 EM changed the description of the company in ads to "Gun and Rifle Manufacturers" (as did many other English gun makers). This description was occasionally but not usually used on his trade/case labels for the next 15 years. There are two extant guns with this phrase on the ribs or barrels:
-- SN 25572, a .450 BPE SxS U-L hammer gun rifle dated 1883
-- SN 26537, a .450 BPE SxS U-L hammer gun rifle dated 1884.

Sometime around the late 1860’s-1870’s 1870 (presumably) for a short time he used a different label for revolvers with only the 315 Oxford Street address, without the scollops or the medals, advertising “Breech Loading Gun and Rifle Manufacturers," which included the phrase, "By appointment to his majesty emperor Napoleon III.

For the record In the early 1870’s Francis Davis was Reilly's shop manager. He was the Reilly employee who testified at the court cases. No further information.

In 1876 some outlier Reilly labels and publicity began advertising a connection to the King of Portugal and by 1882 to the Kings of Spain and The Netherlands.

Also around 1876 315 Oxford Street got its own label back; it was slightly different from the classic 502 label, without scollops and with no scroll work at the bottom.

Reilly and the American Market

From as early as 1868 Reilly evinced an interest in penetrating the American market. He acquired an American agent (Joseph Grubbs, Philadelphia), had his guns advertised in mail order catalogs, and exhibited at the 1876 Philadelphia centennial along side very high-standard British guns such as Purdey, and won a medal. Among other American connections, he was the sole distributer of Sharps rifles in the UK.

1878-80: Situation of the Company

Reilly again exhibited at the 1878 Paris exposition and again won medals. By 1880 Reilly sold a third more - soon to be twice as many - serial numbered, hand made bespoke guns than both Holland and Holland and Purdey combined, this in addition to:
. . .-- a very active business in guns sold under license from well known gun makers including revolvers (Trantor, Baumont-Adams, Walker, Colt, etc), rook rifles, repeating rifles (Sharps, Winchester, etc.),
. . .-- as well as merchandising every type of gun accoutrement - reloaders, cartridges, shells, cases, etc.
. . .-- and sustaining a huge business in previously owned guns.

Reilly told the 1881 census taker that he employed some 300 people in his firm, an extraordinarialy high number for the times, an indication of the extent of his gun manufacturing and sales business. (WW Greener in the same census claimed to employ 140, less than half the number of Reilly; Purdey in 1871 said he employed 58, 1/5th the number of Reilly workers).

Reilly in the early 1880's

Reilly's business was booming and gun production topped 1000 a year. Reilly reportedly was making long guns for other London gun-makers. Note: there is a suspicion that with his large industrial spaces (by London terms) that he was doing this for many years - see the Reilly-Purdey kerfuffle from 1866. As an example,
. . .-- a James Beattie percussion gun made circa 1835 has been found with the locks labeled “Reilly,” a possible indication that Reilly made the gun in the white for Beattie, this in the very early years of Reilly making guns.
. . .-- In 1832 Reilly offer special deals for “country gun makers.”
. . .-- Wilkinson marketed at least on Green Bros Breech loader circa 1868; since Reilly was the sole manufacturer of the Green Bros patent, Reilly had to have made that gun for Wilkinson.

He also around this time allegedly (not confirmed) began importing cheap Belgian-made revolvers in parts which he assembled in his buildings, engraved and sold. (Reilly, like Trantor and others, possibly was involved with the Belgian manufacture and "assembly trade" much earlier...perhaps dating to as early as the 1850's).

He exhibited at the 1882 Calcutta fair (a British Empire only affair) and won a medal and was highly praised for his exhibit at the 1884/85 London International Expositions where he again won medals.

(Note there were three different international expositions in London in 1884-85; An exposition at Crystal Palace; the International Health Exposition of 1884; and the International Inventions Exposition of 1885. Reilly apparently won a gold medal at the Internation Health Exposition though why shotguns were exhibited there is unknown – he publicized the medals only as “London Exhibition 1884.” Reilly also won a silver medal at the International Inventions Exposition but did not publicize it; Reilly's exhibit at this exposition is described in Wyman.)

Reilly guns figured very well in live pigeon shooting contests throughout the 1880's. Reilly won the 1882 year-long Hurlingham manufacturers cup championship per the Holt's Shooting calendar and his pigeon guns from these early 1880 years were specifically built to match the Hurlingham weight limits.

Big game hunters in Africa used his guns and advertised the results including Henry Morton Stanley, the Welsh-American and perhaps the most famous of all African explorers, Dr. David Livingston, and noted Victorian era African hunter and author Frederick Selous. Sir Samuel Baker, the most famous Victorian hunter of all, of course, began using Reilly heavy rifles in the early 1850’s, had Reilly build explosive shells for him, and continued to use his Reilly connection to the end of his hunting life as previously mentioned.

1880: Reilly and the Anson & Deeley Boxlock'

In early 1880 Reilly adopted the boxlock (Anson & Deeley 1875 Patent) and began building them in significant numbers, apparently in marked contrast to other London gun makers.

. . .-- The boxlock looks to have been frowned on by London gunmakers for some reason, possibly as being "plebeian." Yet Reilly publicly embraced it. It fitted his anti-establishment style and his model for selling to the guys actually on the ground carrying their own guns.

. . .-- It may be that Reilly, always a gambler on technological innovation, decided that its simplicity and durability were the future of shotgunning, a conclusion reinforced by early 1880’s writings about Reilly and his advertisements.

. . .-- However, at the same time Reilly was dramatically expanding serial numbered production from 650 to over 1000 a year and had decided to "sell off the rack." The A&D boxlock would certainly have simplified the manufacturing process. Reilly could have tried to produce these himself at least early on..he had the ego and the manufacturing space.

. . .-- Equally possible, is that Reilly began to avail himself of Birmingham produced actions. Buying boxlock actions from Birmingham and finishing them in London, as just about the entire trade did at the time, would be a logical business step. Birmingham was fully geared up to producing boxlocks by 1880. However, Birmingham box-lock actions usually have workers' initials on them someplace. None have yet to be found on a Reilly box-lock but this type of information is not usually published by auction houses.

. . .-- SN 22482 (1880): The first surviving Reilly box-lock is SN 22482 (1880), a 12 gauge top lever shot gun, A&D Patent use number 1156. Almost 30% of the surviving Reilly’s from 1881 to 1912, both rifles and shotguns, are boxlocks.

1882: Selling Off The Rack

In late 1881 per advertisements it appears that Reilly made a business decision to stock ready-made guns and sell them off-the-rack as well as selling his usual bespoke made-to-order guns. This might account for the soaring number of guns serial numbered per year, which grew from about 650 numbered in 1880 to some 1050 in 1882. It might also account for certain discrepancies in serial numbered guns from this time forward such as 303xx which would have been numbered in late 1888-early 1889 but still has "Not For Ball" on its barrels (a stamping discontinued in 1887).

If this were the case, Reilly possibly serial numbered his bespoke guns when ordered (usual London practice) and his off-the-rack guns when sold. (When knowledgable gun historians and makers were queried about this phenomena - guns with pre-1887 proof marks apparently made after that date - they shrugged and said essentially that no-one can logically explain the process at the time - some gun makers ignored or stretched the law; some used barrels already proofed..etc.)

The decision to vastly expand production and sell ready-made guns may mark the origin of a trend towards marketing Birmingham-made guns finished in London to satisfy demand, supplementing Reilly’s own production which seemed to max out at about 650 a year per the below chart. Scott "Triplex" actions found on several 1880's Reilly's may be an example (along with the above mentioned pivot to making Anson & Deeley boxlocks).
. . .-- (This said, Scott usually managed to put a Scott number on his guns and actions - none have been found on Reilly's and the Reilly Scott Triplex actions have on their barrels "Improved Patent" for some reason or another. Thus it is also entirely possible that Reilly built them under license. As usual all Reilly serial number guns continued to proofed in London).

1882: Reilly and Steel Barrels'

In addition in January 1882 he advertised for the first time guns equipped with Whitworth compressed fluid steel barrels (originally a 1865 patent extended in 1879 for 5 years).

. . .-- SN 24365: The first extant Reilly with a confirmed Whitworth barrel is SN 24365, a 12 gauge SxS pigeon gun with 31” barrels - top lever, side lock, low hammers, flat file cut rib. It is dated per the chart to 1882.
. . .-- SN 19953: (There is a Reilly .500 SxS BPE rifle from 1876 SN 19953, which appears to have steel barrels; however they may be blued Damascus, the gun description being minimal.)

November 1881: Change in numbering of Oxford Street

In November 1881 Oxford Street was renumbered; "502" became "16 New Oxford Street" and "315" becoming "277 Oxford Street." The first extant gun with either of the new addresses on the ribs is SN 23536, a 12 ga. SxS BLE shotgun with E.M. Reilly & Co, 277 Oxford St., London on the rib.

In spite of the formal change in numbering, the old numbers occasionally appeared in Reilly ads and on gun ribs for the next couple of years.

As for labels a 16, New Oxford Street label with rue Scribe exists obviously post November 1881 and pre July 1885. However, the Reilly trade label used at 315 Oxford Street does not appear to have changed definitively to the new numbering system until after rue Scribe closed in 1885; no "277 Oxford Street, London" labels with the Paris branch have so far been found. (There are a very limited number of the 277 labels for this time period uncovered so far; one may still turn up).

For the record, Reilly’s apparent shop foremen during the early 1880’s was a well-known gunsmith named Ruben Hambling. Hambling had possibly begun working for Reilly in the late 1850’s and had previously owned his own gun making shop in Manchester.

1884-1885: Reilly outlier label

Two examples of a Reilly "outlier" label from this period have been found. It is for 16, New Oxford Street and mentions both 277 Oxford Street and 2 rue Scribe Paris. It has the coats of arms of the Kings of Portugal, Spain and Netherlands and mentions “wholesale and retail.” How this Reilly label fits into the label chronology is unclear.

July 1885: Closure of the Paris Branch

In July 1885 rue Scribe was closed. The reasons for this are not known - hand made guns were being sold at a very high rate; it may have had to do with the departure of a long-time partner (possibly a M. Poirat? M. Poirat was the agent for Reilly in 1871, mentioned in French parliamentary records when Reilly tried to sell the stock of Chassepot rifles in Birmingham to the French Republic.).

The last extant SN'd gun with rue Scribe on the rib is 27340, address on the rib being “New Oxford Street, London & rue Scribe, Paris.” It is a 12 bore SxS top-lever, hammer-gun, shotgun.

1885-1886: Possible satellite Paris address at 29 rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré, Paris

Sometime in early 1885 Reilly apparently opened a small satellite branch of 2 rue Scribe, Paris at 29 rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré, Paris for a short time.

Six different gun case labels have been found with this address. One such label appears on SN 26880, a gun dated to Feb 1885. However, this label also is found in a case housing SN 22432, dated 1880 and bought by a man who died in 1882 (the label obviously was added later, possibly after a repair).

The rue du Faubourg labels are generally in the classic post 1861 Reilly format but are not scolloped. They feature the usual main 16, New Oxford Steet address with the 277 Oxford street branch; the rue du Faubourg address is located where 2 rue Scribe had been for 17 years. The labels illustrate the 1867 Paris medals in the upper left hand corner and the 1884 London international exposition medals in the right. This seemingly dates these labels and correspondingly the existence of this shop from late 1884 or early 1885.

There is an argument as to whether rue du Faubourg existed after Reilly closed 2 rue Scribe late July 1885. The argument is summarized below:

. . .-- Evidence against the existance of rue du Faubourg after 31 July 1885 closure of 2 rue Scribe:
. . . . .- No newspaper advertisements for this branch exist. It was a prestigious location - Coco Chanel's apartments were above it in another century. It should have been publicized by Reilly had it been more than a transient sales shop.
. . . . .- No extant guns have thus far been found with this address on their ribs.
. . . . .- After July 1885 there is no mention of “Paris” in any of the Reilly advertisements in the mass popular daily papers.

. . .-- Evidence for the existence of rue du Faubourg after July 1885.

. . . . .- In addition to very fashionable Paris shops, Some Parisian gun makers had factories/workshops/show rooms on rue du Faubourg. The road was also the heart of the English speaking community living in Paris a la “Belle Époque” including the home of the British ambassador to France. A sales-shop in that area would seem to be a logical Reilly commercial decision.

. . . . .- There are three extant Reilly guns with 1886 serial numbers – i.e. after the close of 2 rue Scribe - which have "Paris" on their barrels. Two of these are SxS's built on the Scott "triplex" system. Counter argument: The guns or barrels could have been labeled before the closure of 2 rue Scribe and used a year later.

. . . . .-There are magazine advertisements stretching into 1886 for Reilly at "Paris." Counter argument: Some of these are long term advertisements that were not changed over a couple of years.

. . . . .- New scroll work is found on the bottom of the rue du Faubourg label. This scroll work is very similar (but not identical) to that found on the 16, New Oxford Street label used after the closure of rue Scribe and which has no Paris address at all. Counter argument: The scroll work on the rue du Faubourg label seems to precede that later used on the stand-alone 16, New Oxford Street label with no Paris address. Perhaps the rue du Faubourg label preceded the 16, New Oxford Street (no Paris) label.

. . . . .- A paid-for article appeared in the January 1886 London press touting a win at the Monte Carlo pigeon shoot by Italian champion pigeon shooter Giuseppe Guidicini using a Reilly with the rue du Faubourg address. Monte Carlo was the most prestigous international pigeon shooting event; Guidicini won it three times. Whether the address was on the rib of his gun or on the trade/case label is unknown. Guidicini’s gun likely was built by Reilly at the beginning of the 1885 pigeon shooting season, Monte Carlo being the last event of the 1885 shooting year. Counter argument: The gun may have only had the London address on the rib and Guidicini took the shop address from the label. Counter-counter argument: The paid for articles in four London papers were likely placed by Reilly not by Guidicini. If so, Reilly at the time had no compunctions about advertising a rue du Faubourg address; whether this was for prestige (Paris) or because he was indeed still in Paris is yet to be determined.

For now pending a review of Parisian property records, the existance of rue du Faubourg from circa early 1885 to early-mid-1886 will be presumed. The lack of advertising for the shop is perplexing, however, and this question will continue to be investigated.

July 1885: Change in Reilly labels

The labels for both London branches changed slightly with the closure of 2 rue Scribe on 31 July 1985. The new labels retained the essence of the original 1861 labels:

. . .-- 16, New Oxford Street, continued with the scolloped corners, double outlining following the model of the 1861 and 1868 labels. It has the 1867 medals in the upper left corner but with the 1884 London International Exposition gold medal in the upper right. It also advertised different guns in the scroll work at the bottom of the label.

. . .-- 277, Oxford Street also continued its label tradition without the scollops or border lining but some of the descriptions in scroll work in the center of the label were changed.

Reilly in the Late 1880's:

Reilly exhibited at the 1889 Paris World's Fair, the "Tour Eiffel" Exposition Universalle, and won a silver medal. However, for some reason he chose not to publicize the medal. Wesley-Richards won the overall gold medal and every English gunmaker entered in the exposition was awarded a silver medal; perhaps Reilly felt this degraded the accomplishment.

A nasty law-suit on easement limitations to the Salavation Army Hall behind his establishment at 277 Oxford Street was litigated. The legal decision is cited to this day.

The fact is, something changed with the firm after 1886; Reilly's guns regularly won competitions and were donated to be given as prizes at high-end shooting competitions; but the company just gradually retracted from mass-media print. The cocky swagger of the 1860's seemed to have burnt itself out.

1890: Death of E.M. Reilly and aftermath

In July 1890 EM Reilly contracted broncho-pneumonia and passed away.

Of Reilly's “acknowledged” sons Charles A. was 20, Herbert H. was 15, and Gerald Atol was 13 - all still in school, none apparently with the hands-on gun-making expertise that EM had in his upbringing. His first "son" Edward Montague was 23 (see below).

His wife Mary Ann was in her 40's. Business was still lively. Widows did successfully manage companies in England at the time after the deaths of their husbands. In his will E.M specifically did not leave his wife the "trade books." However, newspaper articles on the later death of her son Edward Montague indicate that Mary was indeed running the company during this time.

With EM’s death, somehow the light of Reilly entrepreneurship went out. Mary Ann Reilly had to operate in a "man's world" and no matter how strong willed, there were serious obstacles for her.

Subsequently, his sons did not seem to have the hands-on knowledge of the gun manufacturing trade that EM had hammered into him in the 1830's. Nor did they have the generational connections to the business, or the understanding of the complex entertwinings of its execution. The gun-trade was always a sort of dance while juggling a number of balls
-- relationship to outworkers,
-- handling in-house bench workers,
-- dealing with importation of parts (from Belgium) and the licensing for manufacturing others' patents,
-- contacts with Birmingham mass production factories
-- kow-towing to the upper class,
-- staying abreast of market trends,
-- and always advertising and promoting.

By the time Bert actually exerted control over the company, surely around 1899, its reputation and place in the English gun-making fraternity had been seriously eroded. (And Bert not bothering to attend assemblies of English gun-makers probably didn't help - fraternization, even in a cut-throat business, always is a plus).

Characterizing the Reilly's:

This study has not looked at the Reilly family except where it effects the business; however, here are some possible characterizations of the Reilly's based on very limited information, much from Sally Nestor, family researcher.

-- J.C. Reilly comes across as something of an early 19th century, self-absorbed narcissist (this from one possibly extremely prejudiced source) . Yet, he registered a silver mark - not something one can just do without true expertise and apprenticeship, and per John Campbell, not independently confirmed, he was a clock-maker and a member of the "Clockmakers" guild. JC apparently had some serious mechanical skills. He appears to have been rebellious, snarky, egotistical and independent, and probably was a difficult and demanding boss, husband, father. His wife left him, and a couple of his children apparently wanted nothing to do with him. But, he had allies in the gun world, i.e. a relationship with John Blanch from pretty much the time when he first began to build his own guns (a deduction from very limited evidence - Blanch kept Reilly advertisements from the 1840’s era in his private scrap book).

-- E.M. Reilly appears to have been an imaginative, far-sighted, organized, ambitious businessman (based on his business record). He also worked with his father from an early age in the gun making business and had extensive hands-on experience in making guns and air guns. He had some excellent political connections in the gun trade - the same group of gun makers appear repeatedly together in the late 1850-early 1860 time period - Prince, Green, Deane, Reilly, Blanch, and a couple of others - and given that he manufactured well in excess of 5,000 Comblain breech loaders (presumably in Birmingham) in the 1860's, he had connections there as well. He had to have had some people skills. He had a talent for recognizing promising new patents and was not afraid to build them to suit or to take technological business risks trying to anticipate market demand. He was definitely a francophile in an English world where France conjured up the image of a 1000 year old structural enemy. He was perhaps a bit of a control freak and probably not easy to be around - especially if you were his son. (The Victorian age was not a "huggy-feely" one) (this only from interpreting the wording in his will).

-- The first son, Edward Montague Reilly b.1867 probably was the pre-marriage offspring of then 50 year old EM and his then 21 year old future wife Mary. Four sons were born to EM and Mary, all technically out of wedlock; However, only Edward Montague was called a "reputed" son by his father. Edward Montague was an "engineer" and "gun maker" following in his father's footsteps and was designated as an executor of EM's will (along with Mary). He apparently later worked on locomotives. In about 1893 he came down with tuberculosis and ultimately fell from an upper window at 277 Oxford Street in July 1895.

-- EM's wife Mary Ann was a woman operating in a "man's world" after his death. The fact that she apparently ran the company for 9 years from 1890-99 is a testament to her pluckiness. There is not much known about her except by analysis. She was born in 1845. No-one knows who were her parents or her background; family historians speculate that she was E.M.'s cousin. Even her maiden name is not clear - it is either Curtis or "C-o-x." At the age of 20 she seduced a 50 year old successful businessman, ignoring convention. She had 4 sons out of "wedlock" one of which may not have been his; something or someone kept them from formally marrying until the late 1870’s. After EM’S death, in spite of very specifically not being left the "trade books," she apparently took over and ran a large company in Victorian, England. This is something movies are made for - sex, guns, money and power. Her offspring included later Members of Parliament. She died 12 January 1899. She deserves more attention. Yet, under her guidance the company began steadily to contract. She had neither the insight into the gun business nor the connections to keep the company afloat.

Mid-1890's: Reilly’s decline

By 1895, the death of Edward Montague, Reilly guns were no longer being mentioned as often as winners in pigeon shoots; Reilly victories and promotional donations of guns as prizes had been a prominent feature in London papers for 25 years. And yet, advertisments for the firm's products continued to fill the newspapers; and due to reputation, Reilly was still being mentioned in books at the turn of the century as a company which could make quality Africa-proof big-bore rifles.

May 1897: Closure of 16, New Oxford Street

In early May 1897 the company closed 16 New Oxford Street where it had been located for 50 years; 277 Oxford Street remained open. Bespoke guns continued to be sold in the early 1890's at a goodly clip but as the decade advanced for some reason the demand for these hand-made and measured guns in a middling cost category seemed to decline. Reilly serial numbered gun production dwindled. The company's mangement after 1890 did not seem to have E.M.'s business sense or "touch” and his guns began to seem a bit old-fashioned.

With sales diminishing, closing the finishing facilities at 16 New Oxford street while retaining the smaller sales and manufacturing spaces at 277 Oxford Street would seem logical. The last extant SN'd gun from 16 New Oxford Street is 34723, a 12 bore SxS, top-lever, Damascus-barrelled, hammer-gun, shotgun. Note: This quite elegant gun has Birmingham proofed barrels; It may be further evidence that as Reilly declined after EM's death, the company increasingly relied on out-sourced gun parts (as did most of London gunmakers).

For the record the Reilly shop manager at the time of this closure was James Curtis, no additional information.

1893-97: label changes

Within a couple of years after EM's death the company's descriptions on Reilly's presentation cases changed back to "Gun and Rifle makers" although the company was still "Gun and Rifle Manufacturers" in phone and business directories.

After May 1897 the trade/case label changed. 16 New Oxford Street was of course dropped as was the entire old format label used since 1860. The new “modern” label displayed four sets of medals won in 1876 (Philadelphia), 1878 (Paris), and 1884 (London) and 1873 (Vienna) (although there is no evidence that Reilly actually exhibited in Vienna) and advertised “magazine guns.”

Death of Mary Ann Reilly, 1899:

In January 1899 Mary Ann Reilly died - she was only 54. Apparently H.H. (Bert) Reilly, E.M's third son, then only 24 years old, took over the management of the company.

Move to 295 Oxford-Street, 1903-4:

In March 1903 the Company vacated 277 Oxford-Street where they had been quartered for 44 years while the building was being renovated and moved 300 yards down the street to 295 Oxford-Street. The last extant gun made at 277 Oxford Street should be 35394 a 12 gauge SxS BLE shotgun with steel sleeved barrels (thus no address). The first extant gun with 295 Oxford Street, London on the rib is 35398, a 12 ga. SxS BLE shotgun, dated by the below chart to May 1904.

The trade label continued to be the 1897 “4 medal” label but with “277” crossed out and “295” stamped above.

Note: Newspaper ads for Reilly stopped in late February 1903 while Reilly was still at 277, and did not resume again until May 1904 with the shop located at 295 Oxford Street. Thus it appears that Reilly closed down completely for 14 months. Reilly only made about 175 guns from the time of the move from 277 to bankruptcy in June 1912, a sad commentary on the end of a storied firm.

1904-1912: Reilly reduced to finishing guns bought in the white?

With this possible shutdown of the company for 14 months, it is hard to imagine that Bert could have kept his gunsmiths employed. In addition, from the time the company reopened until bankruptcy eight years later, only a very small number of guns were serial numbered by Reilly, less than 25 a year. Thus it is hard to imagine Reilly after May 1904 as a complete gun-making firm as it was in the heady days of JC and EM. Bert Reilly probably resorted to finishing guns provided by outworkers in the white and concentrated on repairing and updating guns.

There are Reilly guns with serial numbers from the 1880’s that bear the 295 address on the barrel or case placed after they had obviously been brought in for new barrels or for service. His case labels and advertisements seem to confirm this.

There is one Reilly SN 35612 which has a serial number on the barrel for Holloway. This is one of the very few serial numbered Reilly’s, which appear to have been built definitively by a firm other than Reilly himself. The Holloway SN would date the gun to 1911. This in and of itself is significant since it skews the “numbered guns built chart” per below.

This said, there are other Reilly’s including an extant pair, which have no outside-worker marks on them as far as can be determined from auction house advertisements.

June 1912: Bankruptcy

The company remained at 295 until bankruptcy was declared on 06 June 1912 (publicized on 08 June 1912 in the London Monday morning papers). The last extant gun with 295 on the rib is 35678, a 12 bore SxS BLE shotgun. Reportedly during this period at least one gun was built with "J.C. Reilly" and the old "Holborn Bars" address on the rib.

Note: Per advertisements in September 1911 the company announced it was for sale or in need of new partners with cash. Its stock of guns was advertised at reduced prices for cash only. In December 1911 the company was changed to a limited liability company with "CW Roberts" (probably G. Watkinson Roberts - liquidator specialist) as one of the directors. Roberts was a bankruptcy lawyer. Reilly's continued advertising 295 for sale in Spring 1912 per newspaper advertisements. It appears Bert Reilly knew bankruptcy was coming and changed the company to protect his personal assets. He retained his separate homes after bankruptcy.

1912-1918: 13 High Street, Marylebone

Bert Reilly opened a small gun shop, E.M Reilly & Co., at 13 High Street, Marylebone in 1912 after the bankruptcy. No advertisements can be found for the shop though per London postal address, telephone and business directories they identified themselves as "gunmakers." No guns with this address on the rib have been found. The date of its closure is not noted although it is listed in the London telephone directory in 1918 (but not in 1919).

(Note: one internet site claims that 13 High Street was occupied by Reilly as early as December of 1911 while 295 was for sale; no footnotes or validation of this claim were published. It has not been verified. London directories and telephone directories do not seem to support this assertion.)

Charles Riggs era, 1922-1966:

In August 1922 The Reilly name was bought by a sporting goods dealer named Charles Riggs (most Reilly history summaries put the date of purchase as 1917; this is belied by the dates of newspaper advertising). Riggs apparently decided he could use the name to promote his premium line of guns (possibly built by Osborne/Midland).

Riggs-Reilly guns usually have "E.M. Reilly & Co., London" on the ribs; Sometimes "E.M. Reilly & Co., Ltd." As a further identifier, a lot of the Rigg's-Reilly's have "Prince of Wales" half pistol grip stocks (something the original Reilly firm almost never made.) Riggs'-Reilly named guns have six-digit serial numbers and appear to begin at around 128000. (The earliest Riggs serial number so far identified is 128466). A Riggs "Reilly" with a serial number in the 150000's is known to exist.

Riggs was quite a self-promoting character and comes across in advertisements and articles as something of an annoying, pretentious, status-climbing, con man with a large ego and a huge amount of hubris and energy. There are pictures of him medalled like a royal prince claiming marksmanship trophies that the historical record doesn't support; he billed himself as a yeomanry sergeant early on but had promoted himself to Lieutenant later on in life. He very well could have rubbed the gun establishment the wrong way.

Comment: Reading Rigg's letters to the London Press etc., can be grating. The man would have made millions in the USA with his energy and without the class chip on his shoulder. In UK the way he presented himself and his business might have resonated with the BSA motorcycle crowd, which were his customers also, but likely was deadly to the upper classes; he made a lot of money - but apparently not a lot of friends in the close-knit gun making fraternity.

Whether a Reilly was involved in the design of the Riggs-Reilly's is not known. The Riggs guns are not ugly...but are now regarded as "journeyman guns," made in Birmingham of medium quality.

Riggs remained in business until 1966.

Conclusion:

The Reilly's sold all types of guns in various qualities using all types of actions. Reilly serial numbered about 33,000 guns from circa 1828 to 1912, all built by them. The guns that they made had an artistic elegance and balance, which is unmistakable. Reilly was one of the first to use highly figured French walnut for their stocks and their engraving, for the most part floral scroll work, was in a unique style and consistently classy. Reilly's best guns were as good as those produced anywhere in England at the time.

Gene Williams, Sep 05, 2018; last updated 03 Dec 2021

See follow-on SN dating chart w/footnotes:

Last edited by Argo44; 12/08/21 04:28 PM.

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