I am going to move on; I started this line to date Reilly guns. I found a very odd and confusing narrative about Reilly history that had been created apparently in the mid-late 20th century. Using only 19th century sources I compiled the data and wrote the history. There is not one reference I can find in 19th and early 20th century publications and journals calling Reilly a "retailer."

To reply to Dustin re-IGC. I put an early version of the Reilly history on the site. A moderator named John accused me of plagiarizing their Reilly history (which incidentally notes that Reilly made guns) and of violating their copyright, The allegation was scurrilous. When I finally read their history it was not bad for pre-internet, but there were errors and it was not footnoted. My research had been posted here for all to see. I told "John" to "sue me."

So Dustin it was not the substance that "John" objected to (and I do know his full name). But slander is not something to be abided and for that reason I won't post there. You can ask other UK members here why they quit IGC.

That's the story Dustin so please don't make things up. And I put a post on this line about it two years ago when it happened (see p.49). The thing that is really galling about this, though, is that the IGC wrote their history in 2002. For 20 years they've known Reilly built guns and said nothing about it as disinformation became set in stone. Now Dustin, you need to go on IGC and correct their false belief that Reilly made guns.

And, I have no desire to change your long held opinion that Reilly was "merely a retailer." Someone must have told you that early on and I don't think you've done any research at all to confirm whether what you were told was true. But there are gun scholars, who have changed their mind, Donald Dallas being one of them, Cyril Adams before he died being another. I'll take their opinion over yours. sorry.

One last note for Dustin. I have posted pictures of Purdey's "factory" at 314 1/2 Oxford Street, and Lang at 22 Cockspur Street (where the first pin-fires were made). They don't look like traditional "factories."

And for all of you who took on board the rhetorical 1850's questions about Reilly and pin-fires, no-one has addressed the main point. Who in UK could have built Reilly's four pin-fires for the trials in 1858, if Reilly didn't do it? The infrastructure didn't exist... Oh yes...and if he could build a center-break pin-fire SxS in 1858 at the dawn of UK break-action history, why couldn't he build a side-lock SxS in 1880?

Last edited by Argo44; 04/18/22 07:50 PM.
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