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-- 35422, 35423; reuniting a pair? earliest extent Reilly's with 295 Oxford Street on the rib.
-- Was a "pair" always an indication of "upper-end"?

(Thanks to Ivanhoe for calling this to my attention). The following listing is on Holt's July 1, sealed bid auction:
https://auctions.holtsauctioneers.c...++6027+&refno=++161948&saletype=
THE STOCK, ACTION & FORE-END ONLY OF AN E.M. REILLY & CO. 12-BORE BOXLOCK EJECTOR, serial no. 35422, circa 1910
Estimate £15-25

I have seen this stock/forarm/action auctioned several years ago at Scotarms. It is a significant gun per the below messages I've sent to Holt's. (Holt's usually ignores my emails unless they can make money from them). smile

Sirs: I am a Reilly historian; I've corresponded with you several times. In reference to your July 1 auction, the Stock, forearm, action of Reilly SN 35422, originally auctioned a few years ago on Scotarms...is the #1 gun of a pair. #2 -35423 exists. It was subject of the below auction. You may wish to so advertise....it's quite interesting and thus it may be possible to reunite the pair.

http://stonehengearms.co.uk/shotguns/
E.M. REILLY LONDON BOX LOCK EJECTOR
Number 2 of a pair this boxlock ejector has 30" barrels, 2 1/2" chambers and is nitro proofed.The bores are free from pitting and are choked at 1/2 and 3/4. the reach is 15 1/8". Although there is little engraving or embellishment on this gun, it is a gun of good quality. The game rib is engraved with " E.M. Reilly & Co" and the address of 295 Oxford Street in London. This was the address used from 1904 to 1911. There is a vacant escutcheon on the underside of the straight hand stock. The serial number is 35423 if anyone out there has or know of the matching gun to make a pair.
[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

One more thing about this gun 35422 and the understanding of the pair.. 35423 is the earliest known extant Reilly with "295 Oxford Street" on its rib. Reilly moved from 277 Oxford Street in March 1903. The first advertisement found for 295 Oxford Street is May 1904. I don't know why it took a year to refound the company at its new site but that pretty well dates 35422 and its pair 35423 as between March 1903 and May 1904.

One more observation: One always assumes that a "pair" was made for aristocracy..i.e. - someone was carrying the second gun to load it and allow for easy access by the shooter. Correspondingly, one thus assumes the guns were upper-end. Well, these guns are plain-Janes....Why would "Tommy" "the Captain in some regiment" buy a pair of plain-Jane SxS shotguns? India maybe? (Or as speculated two years ago, perhaps Reilly had stocks of unsold guns and began selling two guns as a "pair" at a discounted price).

Last edited by Argo44; 06/29/21 10:20 PM.
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