doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com E.M. Reilly; History; Chronology; Serial Numbers

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. . . . .CONTENTS

Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

I. Holborn Bars : 1814 -1835. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
. . .1. Beginnings
. . .2. 1828: First Guns Made at 12 Middle Row, Holborn (Holborn Bars), London
. . .3. Reilly Business Model
. . .4. 1831: Reilly "Gun Maker"

II. 316 High Holborn: 1835 – 1847. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
. . .5. August 1835: Move to 316 High Holborn-Street
. . .6. 1837: End of Serial Numbered Pistols
. . .7. August 1840: Company Name Changes to "Reilly; Gun Maker”
. . .8. 1840's: Air-guns

III. 502 New Oxford Street: 1847 - 1857. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
. . .9. March 1847: Move to 502 New Oxford-Street
. . .10. April-November 1847: Change in Trade Label
. . .11. 1847: Change in the Main-Line Numbering Chronology - 3350 Jumps to 8350
. . .12. 1846-1857: J.C. Reilly 7000 Series Numbering Chronology
. . .13. 1840-1856: Outlier J.C. Serial Numbered Guns
. . .14. Hypothetical J.C. "5500" Serial Number Series Early/mid 1840's
. . .15. December 1847 - 1856: New Label for 502 New Oxford-Street
. . .16. Reilly in the early 1850's: Company Organization
. . .17. 1851 - late 1880's: Reilly 300 Yard Outdoor Shooting Range
. . .18. 1851: Crystal Palace Exposition – the Lefaucheaux Revelation
. . .19. Reilly in the early 1850's: Custom Made Guns and Munitions
. . .20. 1855: Reilly Numbering Bore Sizes Before the 1855 Proof Law
. . .21. 1855: Paris Exposition Universelle
. . .22. September 1857: J.C. Reilly Retires; January 1864 He Passed Away

IV: Break Action Guns in UK: 1854 – 1860. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
. . .23. 1852-1856: Break Action, Pin-Fire Guns in UK., PART 1, Hodges & Lang
. . .24. 1852-1856: Break Action, Pin-Fire Guns in UK., PART 2, Reilly & Blanch
. . .25. 1856: Reilly Begins Building Break Action Pin-Fire Guns
. . .26. Mid-1856: Trade/Case Label Changes
. . .27. 1856-1858: Reilly Extant Break Action Pin-Fire Guns
. . .28. 1858-1860: Reilly Develops and Trials Break Action Pin-Fire Guns
. . .29. Observation re "Retailer" vs "Gunmaker" from an Analysis of Extant 1856-58 Reilly Pin-fires

V: Reilly Supports Rifle Innovation: 1854 – 1860. . . . . . . . . . . . .49
. . .30. 1853-1860: Reilly Building Innovative Military Grade Muzzle Loading Rifles
. . . . . . . .1. 1853 Enfield- Rifle-Musket
. . . . . . . .2. General Jacob’s Rifle
. . . . . . . .3. English Schuetzen Percussion Target Rifle
. . .31. 1855-1860: Other Breech-loader Rifles and New Innovations by Reilly
. . . . . . . .1. Terry Patent breech loaders
. . . . . . . .2. Prince Patent Breech Loader
. . . . . . . .3. Westley-Richards “Monkey Tail” Breech Loader. – a Non-event

VI: Reilly 1858 – 1862. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
. . .32. August 1858: Opening of 315 Oxford-Street - New Label
. . .33. The Shooting Gallery at 315 Oxford Street
. . .34. August 1858 - April 1861: Four Changes in the Company Name
. . . . . . . .1. “Reilly & Co., Gun Makers” - August 1858 - March 1859
. . . . . . . .2. “E.M. Reilly & Co., Gun Makers” - March 1859 – August 1860
. . . . . . . . . . . -- NEW LABEL: 502 New Oxford St
. . . . . . . . . . . -- NEW LABEL: 315 Oxford Street
. . . . . . . .3. “E.M. Reilly & Co., Gun Manufacturer” (singular) - August 1860 – April 1861
. . . . . . . .4. “E.M. Reilly & Co., Gun Manufacturers" (plural)” - April 1861
. . . . . . . . . . . -- NEW LABEL
.. . . . . . . . . . .-- PRESENTATION LABEL
. . .35. 1859–1900: Reilly Selling to Yeomanry Militia & Gun Clubs at Wholesale Prices
. . .36. 1860-1861: Reilly’s In-House Guns; Using Others’ Patents; Royalty Payments; Making Guns Under License

VII. Characteristics of Reilly guns and products. . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
. . .37. Comments on Reilly Stocks
. . . . . . . .1. French Walnut Stocks:
. . . . . . . .2. In-House Stock Maker
. . . . . . . .3. Straight English stocks for Shotguns Except Big-bore Fowlers
. . . . . . . .4. Pistol Grip for Rifles
. . .38. 1828-1900: Reilly Engraving
. . . . . . . .1. 1820’s-1830’s: Simple “Vine and Scroll”
. . . . . . . .2. 1840’s-1850’s: “Large Scroll” or “English Scroll”
. . . . . . . .3. 1850’s-1860’s: More complex “English Scroll”
. . . . . . . .4. 1860’s” Increasingly Delicate and Intricate “Rose and Scroll”
. . . . . . . .5. 1870’s-1890’s: Tight “Rose and Scroll”
. . . . . . . .6. Wildlife Scenes
. . .39. 1828-1900; Reilly Barrels
. . . . . . . .1. London proofed
. . . . . . . .2. Bored and Finished by Reilly, 1836-47
. . . . . . . .3. Barrel Lengths
. . . . . . . .4. Damascus Patterns
. . . . . . . .5. Barrel Blanks
. . . . . . . .6. Initials on Barrels, 1870’s
. . . . . . . .7. Steel Barrels, 1882
. . .40. Non-Serial Numbered Reilly’s; Reilly Engraving and Marketing Others' Guns
. . .41. Reilly and Pistols
. . .42. Reilly Cartridges and Ammunition
. . .43. Early 1860’s: Reilly and Cutlery, Swords, Bayonets
. . .44. Reilly Accessories

VIII. 1860 – 1867 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
. . .45. 1850’s-1895: Reilly Staff; Quality Young Employees
. . .46. 1861: Reilly Manufacturing and Sales
. . .47. 1862: Reilly and the 1862 London Exposition
. . .48. 1863: Attempts to Curry Favor with the British Royal Family
. . .57. 1863-1865: Reilly’s Sporting Gun Business
. . .58. 1863-1873: Pin-Fire vs Center Fire
. . .59. 1866: Reilly and Purdey Kerfuffle

IX: Reilly, Arsenal and the British Army. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
. . .49. 1863-1872: Attempts to Win a Military Contract; Reilly Builds Military Rifles
. . .50. 1863-1868: Reilly and the Green Brothers Patent Breech Loader - Sole Manufacturer
. . .51. 1866-1870’s: Reilly Builds (Civilian) Snider-Enfields
. . .52. 1868-1870: Reilly-Comblain Breech Loaders (No Reilly SN) - Sole Manufacturer
. . .53. 1871-1890: Reilly Builds Sporting Martini-Henry Rifles (NSN)
. . .54. 1872-1912: Reilly Sells Other Military Rifles; Swinburn, Gibbs, Soper, Lee-Speed
. . .55. 1869: Explosive Bullets:
. . .56. 1856-1871: An End to Reilly's Arsenal Contract Dreams

X. Reilly - 1868 – 1880; Paris and Attempts to Expand . . . . . . . . . .109
. . .60. 1867-1870, Paris-1: Reilly Takes on Paris, Again; Gun-Maker for Napoleon III
. . .61. February 1868-1870, Paris-2: Reilly Opens 2 rue Scribe, Paris as “E.M. Reilly & Cie”
. . .62. 1868-1897 – Paris-3: New Label
. . .63. 1870 - Paris-4: Fall of Napoleon III; Reilly Prosecuted; Pro-French proclivities
. . .64. 1869-1876: Reilly and the American Market
. . .65. 1868-1876: New Labels and Descriptions
. . .66. 1875-1880: Choke Boring and New Proof Marks
. . .67. 1875-1880: Reilly Paying Royalties for Patent Uses
. . .68. 1878-1880: Paris Exposition; Situation of the Company

XI: Reilly – 1880’s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
. . .69. Early 1880's: Reilly Expansion; 1881 Census; 1000 guns a year
. . .70. 1880: Reilly and the Anson & Deeley Boxlock
. . .71. 1882: Selling Off The Rack
. . .72. Nov 1881: Oxford Street Re-numbered; Change in Labels
. . .73. 1881: Spanish and Dutch Royal Connection
. . .74. 1878-81: Two outlier Trade Labels
. . .75. 1869-1890: Reilly and Pigeon Guns
. . .76. 1882: Reilly and Steel Barrels
. . .77. 1853-1882: Reilly Endorsed by Prominent Explorers and Hunters
. . .78. 1882-1885: International Expositions
. . .79. 1884-1885: Reilly Outlier Label
. . .80. July 1885: Closure of the Paris Branch
. . .81. 1885-1886: Satellite Paris Address at 29 rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré
. . .82. July 1885: Change in Reilly Labels
. . .83. Reilly in the Late 1880's

XII. Death of EM Reilly; Decline and Fall 1890-1918. . . . . . . . . . .156
. . .84. 1890: Death of E.M. Reilly and Aftermath
. . .85. Characterizing the Reilly's
. . .86. Mid-1890's: Reilly’s Decline
. . .87. May 1897: Closure of 16, New Oxford Street
. . .88. 1890-1897: Label and Presentation Case Changes
. . .89. 1899: Death of Mary Ann Reilly; Bert Takes Over
. . .90. 1903-1904: Move to 295 Oxford-Street; Trade Label Update
. . .91. 1904-1912: Reilly Reduced to Finishing Guns Bought in the White?
. . .92. June 1912: Bankruptcy
. . .93. 1912-1918: 13 High Street, Marylebone

XIII. Charles Riggs Era; 1922 – 1950. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
. . .94. August 1922-circa 1950: Charles Riggs Era

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
. . .95. Conclusion

Addendum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
. . .a. Serial Number Dating Chart
. . .b. Explanation of Methodolgy:
. . . . . .1) Process
. . . . . .2) Chronological Date Markers
. . . . . .3) SN Guns Associated with Date Markers
. . . . . .4) Verification Check guns
. . . . . .5) UK Gun Patent Use Numbers Found on Reilly’s
. . .C. Dating Reference Chart for Reilly Trade Labels

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. . . . .PROLOGUE

Explanation for the research:

Reilly was a 19th century London gun-maker. He made guns for 90 years from 1828 to 1912 when the firm went bankrupt. All Reilly records were lost in the second decade of the 20th century.

By the mid-late 20th century, a half-century after Reilly's bankruptcy, a generation of gun writers had decided that Reilly was a “gun-retailer” and as such was a minor figure on the London gun scene. Gun anthologies by prominent writers in the 1970's-90's mentioned cursory histories of Reilly but without dating his guns or illuminating his manufacturing and sales operations. There appeared to be no way to validate any of the claims/observations about Reilly or little interest in doing so and the inertia of gun scholarship predominated; Gun writers and advertisers simply repeated ad infinitum the mantra that Reilly was a retailer.

In November 2015 the author bought his first Reilly, a 12 bore SxS shotgun and began to research the company using the resources of the internet. It rapidly became apparent that the histories of and commentary about Reilly were confusing and contradictory. A second look at the company was clearly needed.

The data for this Reilly history began to be compiled at that time:
-- Every extant Reilly gun found on the internet was cataloged, a list that now comprises over 620 serial numbered extant guns and hundreds of non-serial numbered, engraved and marketed long guns and pistols. Serial numbers, addresses on the ribs, patent numbers, chamber and barrel borings, stocks, proof marks, etc. were noted.
-- Every periodical advertisement for Reilly or articles mentioning Reilly in the 19th century UK press was read and archived. There were thousands.
-- Address changes or renumberings, changes in proof-markings, patent filings or expirations, patent use numbers, dates for the introduction of new cartridges, etc. were noted as serial number “date markers.”

Over 100 different topics were researched including early 19th century barrel boring techniques, engraving, gun making machinery and techniques at the time, street address systems in London, whether or not any UK gun maker used chronological patent use numbers, census data, research into Reilly employees, the beginnings of the UK center-break gun industry in the 1850’s, pigeon shooting rules and regulations, guns exhibited at worlds’ fairs, guns purchased by royals, origin of UK pin-fires, location of private shooting grounds, manufacture in London of boxlocks, etc.

A Reilly gun serial number dating graph/chart was created from this data. It’s validity was verified by numerous “sanity checks” taken from existing Reilly long-guns. This chart allowed for the dating of the case/trade labels. With the dating of the guns and trade labels came an understanding of what types of guns Reilly made and sold over the course of 90 years and the technologies available for use when the guns were numbered - a melding of extant guns with 1800's newspaper advertisements.

The history was finally written down in September 2018. It was posted on the below site for peer review and the research was continuously updated and debated as new guns and articles came to light.
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=436538#Post436538

The study was published in (edited) two parts in summer 2019 in Diggory Hadoke's on-line magazine "Vintage Gun Journal." It has since been added-to extensively - almost daily - and is now, without the constraints of trying to condense it onto one (internet) page, much more detailed and substantive.

The history includes analyses and some logical suppositions and conclusions. These are, however, supported by articles and advertisements and the history is solidly sourced. It corrects or updates dozens of writings on the company most of them erroneous, including Nigel Brown's Vol III, Boothroyd, and just about every article written about Reilly in the last 40 years. Footnotes are provided for each paragraph, indeed each sentence. Challenges to this research should be as well documented, not just based on "urban legend."

Attached is also the latest SN date chart which should get a Reilly owner close to the date the gun was manufactured (see the methodology and caveats in the chart footnotes) and an easy to use dating chart for the trade labels.

Clarifying comments:

. .-- The origin of the "Reilly was a retailer only" myth possibly came out of 1922:
. . . . . – Charles Riggs bought the Reilly name and put 25,000 guns on the market in 30 years, none made by him, with "E.M. Reilly & Co., London" on the ribs from 1922 to 1950.
. . . . . - A generation of gun makers grew up with this in their minds, without a reference to what Reilly was before, because by 1900, 22 years and a world war before Riggs - indeed almost 50 years before noted gun writers David Baker, Ian Crudgington, Geoffrey Boothroyd, Nigel Brown, etc., even began to work on guns as teen-aged apprentices - Reilly - the classic Reilly - was essentially toast.
. . . . . - Finally, in readng the technical expertise exhibited in E.M. Reilly’s 1847 pamphlet on air-guns or his knowledgeable comments on center-break pin-fires published in the 26 December 1857 edition of “The Field,” one understands that these men, the Reilly’s, could not have been just “retailers.”

. .-- The history occasionally goes into some depth on the status of the UK gun making industry to illustrate important points about the Reilly firm, in particular the period 1851-1859 and the origins of the UK center-break breech-loader. This may seem pedantic and at time repetitive but is important to understanding the place Reilly occupies in the UK gun-making fraternity and to refute ingrained misconceptions about Reilly. This history also addresses certain unclear points as an academic “pro-con” “debate” of sorts pending additional research.


. . . . .INTRODUCTION

The Reilly firm of gun makers in London has long been viewed as enigmatic. Confusion exists on the location of the company, its products, and even whether it actually made guns or was just a retailer. Reilly's records were lost after bankruptcy (1912) and the final shutting down of the firm (1918). This new history should resolve these mysteries and re-establish Reilly as at one time perhaps one of if not the largest of gun makers in London during the mid-1800's.


. . . . .I. HOLBORN BARS: 1814 -1835


*1 Beginnings

Joseph Charles Reilly was born in Ireland in 1786. He hailed from a well-to-do family and his family aspired for him to become a lawyer. In the mid-1800's he went to London to study - Irish Catholics could not study law in Ireland at the time. However, he had an independent streak. Instead of law school, he struck out on his own into various technical fields. (He was obviously supported by his family money in all this - he was never a "destitute student.")

He married in 1812. *1a In 1814 he opened a jewelry shop, later described as also dealing in silver-plate, *1b at 12 Middle Row, Holborn, *1c located hard by Gray’s Inn of the "Inns of the Court." He registered a silver mark "JCR" in July 1818. *1d His clientele included country gentlemen and barristers.



Note: to register a silver/gold mark required a considerable apprenticeship and noted expertise. John Campbell in his article in "Double Gun Journal," summer 2015, wrote that Reilly was also a member of the clock-makers' guild, something again requiring quite an apprenticeship. He allegedly retained his membership in this guild until the late 1820's.*1e

In 1817 his son Edward Michael was born, the third of four children.*1f He prospered, buying a country estate in Bedfordshire in 1824.

Jewelry shops in London at the time often dealt in guns, engraving and re-selling them, perhaps because of the influence of the artistic professionalism of Joseph Manton's guns at the time. *1g Some such shops called themselves "Whitesmiths." *1h

Note: Among the extant JC Reilly "jewelry" from this time period are miniature working model cannons with Damascus barrels. *1i Yet, he did indeed deal in jewelry: a list of stolen goods from the Reilly shop in January 1831 included, rings, necklaces, bracelets, etc. - normal stuff for the métier. *1j


*2 1828: First Guns Made at 12 Middle Row, Holborn (Holborn Bars), London

Reilly’s first noted registration for a hunting license is in 1823.*2a This was no small thing. “Gentlemen” were expected to be involved with guns and to fund a license. No gunmaker in London was regarded as a "gentlemen," yet those who aspired to be, followed suit. Lang, for instance, highlighted his having held such a license for 30 years (from 1827) in a pamphlet he wrote in January 1857 promoting center-break guns.*2b Reilly's license may have predated Lang's by 4 years.

Reilly was not mentioned in an 1825 book which listed London gunmakers (Instructions to a Young Sportsman, Fourth Edition by Ltc P. Hawker). However, shortly thereafter he made a decision to get into the gun making business. Sometime around summer 1828 he numbered his first Reilly built gun which presumably was "01." The serial numbered guns included pistols, rifles and shotguns.

The address on his guns during this period was "Holborn Bars." 12 Middle Row was at "Holborn Bars." "Bars" shows the area was one of the old tax stations for entering London.

The date for the beginning of gun making by Reilly is supported by London newspaper advertisements:
-- Ads from summer 1828 and summer 1829 make it clear he was making guns for clients - and urging customers not to spend money for a "name.”*2c
-- An advertisement for hunting dogs from 22 August 1829, “Morning Chronicle” specifically identified Reilly as a “gun maker.”*2d
-- By 1830 he was advertising “very superior guns of his own make,” which he maintained were as good as guns twice as expensive, without actually using the word “gun maker.”*2e
-- The January 1831 report on the burglary at Reilly’s jewelry shop states he was a “gun maker” as well as silversmith.*2f
-- Reilly's first advertisements for guns using the word "gunmaker" are in spring 1831.*2g



Note: Reilly appears to have been amongst the first London gun makers to begin to advertise in the mass popular press, possibly preceded only by Lang. Few gun ads from rival makers can be found in 1820’s-early 1830’s newspapers.

Following are the earliest known Reilly serial numbered guns:

-- SN 88 - a pair of .50 cal. percussion dueling pistols with J.C. Reilly, Holborn Bars, London engraved on the hexagonal Damascus barrels; These are the oldest extant Reillys owned by a UK gentleman with records of purchase dated to the late 1820's; they are dated circa early 1829 on this study's dating chart. *2g



-- SN 162 - 1829 the earliest extant Reilly-made long gun; It is a single barrel 6 bore muzzle loader wild-fowler, J.C. Reilly, Holborn Bars, London engraved on the barrel, also made circa 1829. *2h



-- SN 176 - 1829 - also a pair of .50 cal. percussion pistols, almost identical to SN 88 above with J.C. Reilly, Holborn Bars, London; These are the third oldest existing serial numbered J.C. Reilly guns and are also dated late 1829. *2i



-- SN 254 - 1830 - Several early 21st century articles including an article by Terry Weiland mention a J.C. Reilly percussion pistol SN 254 as the (then) lowest known Reilly SN. It would date to 1829 per this chart. However, no photos or additional information can be found about this "phantom" legendary pistol. (The "press" unfortunately tends to copy and repeat with no verification of the initial veracity.)


*3 Reilly Business Model:

JC Reilly early on adopted a business model which did not change during the life of the firm: i.e. provide a quality hand-made product for a moderate price, deliver it rapidly, and "make what would sell." *3a

Reilly was never an innovator - he was a businessman first and a technician/engineer second. But, with this model, and especially with the rise of EM, with his family connections to the gun trade, his ability to recognize a winning or commercially interesting invention or patent, and his flexibility enabling him to produce new products and abandon old ways, Reilly undercut more expensive and better known makers and made his profit on volume.

Reilly dealt in used guns taken on trade and sold guns under license.*3b However, he only serial numbered guns he built and he numbered his guns consecutively for 90 years with certain exceptions during the move to New Oxford-Street in 1847. Reilly had extensive finishing facilities in his large London buildings and no doubt stockpiled locks (and later after 1855 actions) and barrel blanks from outworkers to allow him to meet orders three times as quickly as his competitors.
. . .-- Example: Ads from the 1850’s in spring of each year consistently stated that Reilly had 100 guns in various stages of manufacture which were available for custom fitting and engraving; these guns were not previously ordered but were “speculation guns” stockpiled for expected customers based on anticipated demand. These ads state outright that this had been the company business practice for "more than 20 years." *3c
. . .-- Caveat: Around 1881 Reilly most likely changed some of the parameters of the company' business model; He probably begun using actions (A&D boxlocks for starters) from Birmingham bought "in the white" and finished in London.


*4 1831: Reilly "Gun Maker"

The first Reilly gun probably was serial numbered in 1828 while Reilly still presented himself primarily as a jeweler. However, it soon became clear that, though jewelry continued to be marketed, Reilly was now committed to making guns. From 1831 on Reilly identified himself solely as "Gun-Maker" in his ads. This fact was widely reported in the British press at the time, an 1835 book on guns and shooting being an example.*4d.

His gun advertisements in 1831 targeted “gentlemen going abroad” and offered special rates to “country dealers” ordering his guns.*4e There are indications that during the early 1830's he was making guns "in the white" for the London trades as well. A Reilly hammer found on an 1835 James Beattie gun, and the similarity of that gun to known Reilly long guns, leads to this possible conclusion.*4f For an entrepreneur who had began making guns only a few years earlier, this is an impressive expansion of his manufacturing capability and his marketing/retailing.

Note: Reilly continued to deal in jewelry for awhile. In London directories he is mentioned as a jeweler up to 1835.*4g He apparently continued to make “jewelry” of a type afterwards which included miniature cannons and guns; J.C. Reilly exhibited small brass mortar models at an exhibition in 1845.*4h

Note: 70 years later as Reilly fortunes began to wane, J.C. Reilly's grandson advertised the firm as "established 1835." This history knows more than the grandson did.*4i


. . . . .II. 316 HIGH HOLBORN: 1835 – 1847


*5 August 1835: Move to 316 High Holborn-Street:

In August 1835 JC Reilly with 17 year old EM as an apprentice moved to 316 High Holborn Street.*5a

The building no longer exists but from the size of the current building, and a map of the plot as it existed in the 19th century, it was probably quite substantial.*5b The average house in the area from lithograph prints at the time indicate it was probably a four or five story walk-up. (There is a good chance that a photo exists of the building per below located after extensive map study and analysis.)*5c



J.C. owned several houses and may have lived at a different address than 316 High Holborn per his wil.l*5d He may have resided on occasion in other apartments. The 1841 census, however, recorded the entire family including E.M. as present at 316 High Holborn.*5e.

The first serial numbered extant gun with the High Holborn address is SN 1024, an 8.5mm pocket pistol, Reilly, 316 High Holborn, London on the gun.*5f

Advertisements from the 1840’s show the shop had a small shooting gallery where air guns and hand guns could be tested.*5g


*6 1837: End of Serial Numbered Pistols:

By circa 1837 pistols were no longer numbered in the Reilly chronological numbering system although in the 1839 edition of "Pigot’s London Directory" J.C. Reilly is still listed as “Gun and Pistol Maker.”*6a His serial numbered guns seemed to be limited to bespoke long-guns made to order.

The last serial numbered pistol so far found is SN 1292, a 120 bore (.32 Cal.), pocket pistol with a steel barrel.*6b (This style of Reilly pocket pistol is almost ubiquitous - dozens are extant ranging from the most ornate cased in mahogany and silver encrusted to the mundane. It was obviously a best seller. However, none after SN 1292 are serial numbered).*6c.

J.C. Reilly also continued to "make" big-bore percussion pistols at 316 High Holborn, at least one of them remarkably similar to SN 88 and SN 174.*6d However, none of these later productions have serial numbers.*6e


*7 August 1840: Company Name Changes to "Reilly":

In August 1840 the firm's name in advertisements changed from J.C. Reilly to just "Reilly," which may mark the advent of 23 year old EM as a full partner in the company.*7a EM is listed in the 1841 census as living with J.C. and his occupation, like that of J.C. was "Gun maker."*7b

The names on the gun ribs after 1840 continued to be "J.C. Reilly" or "Joseph Charles Reilly."*7c

Case/Trade labels were styled like an embossed business card with "Joseph Charles Reilly"; Gun Maker: *7d



Several guns from this period survive including the following:
. . . . .SN 1174 - c1836: 8 bore. Fowling piece; Percussion single shot*7e
. . . . .SN 1869 - c1840: 10 bore Shotgun; SxS; hammer gun, muzzle loader*7f