doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com E.M. Reilly; History; Chronology; Serial Numbers

============ academic investigation - don't read unless you're into 1885 gun esoteria ================
-- Review of July 1885 closure of 2 rue Scribe, Paris
-- Review of what is known about 29 rue Faubourg, Saint-Honoré

I. July 1885: Closure of the 2 rue Scribe, Paris:

In late 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.).

Case/trade label before closure of rue Scribe: 16, New Oxford Street, 277 Oxford Street and 2 rue Scribe + 1867 Paris Exposition medals:



The key indicator for adopting this closure date are the advertisements which appeared in the most popular London newspapers. In late July 1885 rue Scribe was mentioned - in early August 1885 it had disappeared from otherwise identical ads and from print in general.
. . . . .24 Jul 1885 Bell’s Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .08 Aug 1885. Bell’s Life


The last extant SN'd gun with rue Scribe 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 (no photo).

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

Sometime circa late 1884 or 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 cases with the above label 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 SN22432, dated 1880 and bought by a man who died in 1882 (The label is loose- could have been added much later).




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 existance of this shop from late 1884 or early 1885.*122



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

. . .A. Evidence against the existance of rue du Faubourg after 31 July 1885 closure of 2 rue Scribe:

. . . . .1. 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.




. . . . .2. No extant guns have thus far been found with this address on their ribs.

. . . . .3. After July 1885 there is no mention of “Paris” in any of the Reilly advertisements in the mass popular daily papers.

================ 29 rue du Faubourg - continued below =========