========= *59 1866: Reilly and Purdey Kirfuffle TEXT ==========

*59 1866: Reilly and Purdey Kirfuffle

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.

A place-beyond all we in London know
To Messrs. E.M. Reilly & Co.
What other houses charge sixty-five pounds
For, and keep you four or five months (which astounds),
In waiting for; one exactly the same
For which only £45 they claim
Having it ready too in thirty days
Or less, for which they merit highest praise
Exactly the same I've already said
The Gun shall be, by my Art-Heroes made,
But only here to give what's rightly due
You may be able thus to strike more true;. . . .
*59a

(This is not a way to win friends, obviously)

So, the question remains. Did Reilly make guns in the white for Purdey? Purdey didn’t exactly deny it. He just begged the question and deflected.

======= *59 1866: Reilly and Purdey Kirfuffle END TEXT ========

Last edited by Argo44; 06/05/22 09:25 AM.
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