======= *87 May 1897: Closure of 16, New Oxford Street TEXT =======

*87 May 1897: Closure of 16, New Oxford Street

In early May 1897 the company closed 16 New Oxford Street where it had been located for 50 years; 277 Oxford Street remained open. The closure date can be illustrated by identical Reilly advertisements in the "Sporting Gazette." On 1 May 1997 the ad has both 16, New Oxford Street and 277, Oxford Street. On 8 May 1897 the identical ad has only the 277 address.*87a

What happened to the building and to the machinery is unknown. One supposes the furnishings and tools were sold at auction someplace. The building, however, was still intact in downtown London in the 1970's; Donald Dallas said he used to walk past it every day on his way to the London School of Economics and think about Reilly having been there for half a century.

Bespoke guns continued to be sold in the early 1890's at a goodly clip but as the decade advanced for some reason the demand for these hand-made and measured guns in a middling cost category seemed to decline. Reilly serial numbered gun production dwindled. The company's mangement after 1890 did not seem to have E.M.'s business sense or "touch” and his guns began to seem a bit old-fashioned.

With sales diminishing, closing the finishing facilities at 16 New Oxford street while retaining the smaller sales and manufacturing spaces at 277 Oxford Street would seem logical. (Reilly made about 400 serial numbered guns a year at 502, New Oxford Street in 1857; when 315 Oxford Street was opened production increased to about 650. Thus it looks like 277 had a maximum production capacity of 250 guns and once Reilly sales reached that point, there was no point keeping two workshops and retail stores open)

. . . . .SN 34723 - The last extant SN'd gun from 16 New Oxford Street is 34723, a 12 bore SxS, top-lever, Damascus-barrelled, hammer-gun, shotgun. Note: This quite elegant gun has Birmingham proofed barrels; It may be further evidence that as Reilly declined after EM's death, the company increasingly relied on out-sourced gun parts (as did most of London gunmakers).

For the record the Reilly shop manager at 277 at the time of this closure was James Curtis, no additional information.

===== *87 May 1897: Closure of 16, New Oxford Street END TEXT =====

Last edited by Argo44; 06/05/22 11:05 AM.
Baluch are not Brahui, Brahui are Baluch