=============== *41 Reilly and Pistols TEXT ===============

*41 Reilly and Pistols

Reilly always retailed pistols of all types from the beginning of the firm to the end. He engraved them and put his name on them. However, after 1837 he did not serial number them although Reilly was still listed as “gun and pistol makers” in business anthologies as previously noted in chapter 6.

By 1859 he was selling all types of pistols and revolvers, Trantor, Adams, Colt, Smith&Wesson;*41a He sold Howdah's, pepperboxes, duelers, derringers, Flobert, etc.*41b Some of these are extremely well made.*41c Some are highly engraved such as a gold-washed Trantor revolver that certainly did not leave the Trantor factory like that.*41d But, because he did not serial number these guns, he did not build them.

There are accounts of people buying a Reilly revolver, walking out of the shop and committing suicide on the sidewalk. An Irish terrorist purchased a Reilly revolver in 1898 meaning harm and was arrested; It is interesting that the Reilly shop foreman at the time James Curtis suddenly couldn't identify the man who bought it (Reilly's were Irish of course).

Reilly apparently did assemble foreign made revolvers from parts imported from Liège possibly as early as 1860. But Reilly did not serial number assembled guns - witness the Martini-Henry Reilly rifles (see below). Thus pistols are ignored in this study; they cannot be used to date Reilly long-guns except for those with surviving cases with original trade labels, which helped build a data-base of Reilly case labels.

Note: A Reilly pepperbox may have been weilded by "Flashman" in the novel Flashman and the Mountain of Light, by George MacDonald Fraser.*41e

Note2: An 1890's "Vampire Kit" exists with cross, hammer and wooden spikes, vials for holy water, bible, mirror (for checking if the suspected Vampire has a reflection), various holy relics etc. with two Reilly, 316 High Holborn pocket pistols firing silver bullets. Whether Reilly marketed the kit is questionable (Vampire stories originated in the 1890's).*41f

============= *41 Reilly and Pistols END TEXT =============

Last edited by Argo44; 06/05/22 09:03 AM.
Baluch are not Brahui, Brahui are Baluch