======== 1860-61: Reilly Making Complete Guns; Using Others' Patents TEXT ========

*36 1860-61: Reilly Making Guns, All Parts, Using Others’ Patents, and Making Guns Under License:

During this time frame Reilly in advertisements claimed to be making every piece of every gun he serial numbered in his two workshops on Oxford Street and invited customers to "view the progress of their order."*36a This would make Reilly one of the very few "vertical" gun companies in London. (Adams and Colt are the only other two that this writer knows of and Adams had major connections to Liège). The London (and Birmingham) gun trade at the time relied for the most part on out-sourced parts and materials, which were assembled and finished in-house.

Note. Haris Holland posted a similar advertisement in "The Field" in 1858.*36b It's entirely possible that Reilly was allowing customers to view only the "assembled/finished" parts of small arms manufacturing; this said, Reilly's manufacturing spaces with his two buildings dwarfed that of Haris Holland at the time.

In an article about Reilly leading up to the 1862 London World’s Fair, Reilly clearly explained his manufacturing and business philosophy: He was not wedded to any particular design; And he made others’ patents that he deemed commercially viable. This was the company business model for 30 years but it was spelled out quite definitively.*36c

How the patent license fees were paid, how much a patent license fee cost for individual patents, and how they were numbered remains a mystery of the London gun trade. One of the possible reasons for building another maker’s patented gun under license might have been a question of time. Reilly worked faster than other London gunmakers. If a client wanted a Dougall lockfast or a Brazier action on his gun, Reilly would make it or buy it and install it from the maker (but it would cost extra).*36d

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Last edited by Argo44; 06/04/22 11:48 PM.
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