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

*86 Mid-1890's: Reilly’s decline

By 1895, the death of Edward Montague, Reilly guns were no longer being mentioned as often as winners in pigeon shoots; Reilly victories and promotional donations of guns as prizes had been a prominent feature in London papers for 25 years. The number of serial number guns built by Reilly continued to decline after E.M.’s death from about 810 in 1890 to 240 in 1897.

Yet, advertisements for the firm's products continued to fill newspapers and journals,*86a although as the decade went on, the regular newspaper ads became smaller in size and content.*86b
1. January, 1892 “Fashion Magazie”
2. 1895. Warren’s Travel Guide
3. 1895, “The Field” (last ad for 4 years in “The Field”).
4. 1893, “Volunteer Services Gazette”



Some beautiful guns were made the finest being sidelocks with a sprinkling of big bore SxS rifles.*86d Reilly even built SxS’s chambered for the .303. Quote from WW Greener’s “The Breech Loader" (1898): “My late father took with him a double .303 ejector built by Reilly and Co., and he did excellent work with it at all kinds of game.”*86e



And perhaps due to reputation, Reilly was still being mentioned in books at the turn of the century as a company which could make quality Africa-proof big-bore rifles. Again a quote from “The Breech-Loader” p.378: “In conclusion, I think that I shall be offering good advice by recommending intending investors in .303 arms to go to the best makers and get good value. The work of Greener, Reilly, Westley Richards, etc., can be relied on… (signed Hjenry T. Glynn, Sadie Hall, Transvaal)"*86f

Case labels during this time period continued to be the classic 16, New Oxford Street or 277, Oxford Street labels which were adopted after the closure of 2 rue Scribe (previously pictured). Note the new instructions for reloading with smokeless powders including “E.C., Schultz or Walsrode”:



Presentation Case labels continued with the now standard blue velvet interiors:



Note: In 1896, London proofs changed again with the addition of “Nitro Proof” and “1 1/4 oz Max” added. Toby Barclay marketed a gun serial numbered by Reilly in late 1898 but with the pre-1896 proof marks on the barrel.

. . . . .SN 35079 - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). 12 bore. Shotgun SxS. SLE; brls proofed pre-1896; Southgate pat 12314; Southgate ejector trip pat 8239)*86g


*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 is 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. The furnishings and tools probably 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 Reilly's hand-made and measured guns in a middling cost category seemed to decline. Reilly serial numbered gun production dwindled. The company's management after 1890 did not seem to have E.M.'s business sense or "touch” and perhaps 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 as if 277 had a maximum production capacity of 250 guns. 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, an elegant 12 bore SxS, top-lever, Damascus-barreled, hammer-gun, shotgun with Birmingham (re)proofed 30" Damascus barrels.



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


*88 1890-97: label and presentation case changes

in the early 1890's within a couple of years after EM's death the company's descriptions on Reilly's presentation cases changed back to "Gun and Rifle makers" although the company was still "Gun and Rifle Manufacturers" in phone and business directories. The extant presentation cases for the most case are from 277 Oxford Street. After the closure of 16, New Oxford Street, the cases became pretty uniform. All have blue felt with the address and name printed either directly on the felt in gold letters or on a black leather label affixed to the cloth.*88a

After May 1897 the trade/case label was completely changed from the 1861-base label format and modernized.*88b 16 New Oxford Street was of course no longer on the label.



The new “modern” label displayed four sets of medals won in 1876 (Philadelphia), 1878 (Paris), 1884 (London) and 1873 (Vienna) (although there is no evidence that Reilly actually exhibited in Vienna)*88c It advertised “magazine guns” and emphasized "conversions, alterations and repairs" which perhaps at this point in the company history was an important revenue stream.


*89 1899: Death of Mary Ann Reilly; Bert takes over:

In January 1899 Mary Ann Reilly died - she was only 54.*89a No details of her death are known; no will has been uncovered. She died as she lived with much unknown about her except for her apparent formidable will.

It looks as if her two oldest surviving sons, Charles Atol. and Herbert Horace Percy (Bert) assumed control over the firm after her death. The 1901 census lists them both at 277 Oxford Street and both said they were gunmakers.*89b However, it is pretty evident that the younger brother Bert was in charge.

For whatever reason, there was a noticeable change in newspaper advertisements very soon after Mary’s death.
. . . . .-- Reilly went from having tiny ads in the late 1890’s to large format ads in “The Field” and “The Sporting Gazette.”*89c
. . . . .-- Reilly began re-using “Gun & Rifle Makers” vice “Gun Manufacturers” in his advertisements.*89d
. . . . .-- Reilly began again to advertise Eley cartridges in 1890's perhaps giving up his cartridge making revenue stream.*89e (Reilly cartridges may have been made by Eley anyway for some time). Note: Reilly since the early-mid 1990's had been advertising several different types of smokeless power one could have loaded in his shells including “E.C., Schultz or Walsrode” and included instructions attached to his gun cases on loads for these powders. However, for Reilly to finally actually acknowledge Eley (after some 20 years) was quite a step indicating that as production and revenue fell, reality had to be faced; And this reality probably intruded enough to include outsourcing gun components).
. . . . .-- Reilly for the first time also advertised using a '"try-gun" to fit customers to their bespoke guns.*89f

And yet the bleeding continued. Serial numbered gun production numbers declined steadily:
-- 250 in 1897,
-- 160 in 1898,
-- 100 in 1899,
-- .75 in 1900,
-- .70 in 1901.
Clearly management could not keep a full complement of skilled workers in-house building such a small number of guns.


*90 Move to 295 Oxford-Street, 1903-4; Trade Label Update

In March 1903 the Company vacated 277 Oxford-Street where they had been quartered for 44 years while the building was being renovated and moved 300 yards down the street to 295 Oxford-Street. It appears to have come as something of a surprise to some people. “The Field” editor was in the Reilly showroom in early February looking at rook rifles.*90a

Attached photos and maps:
. . . . .Map of Oxford Street*90b
. . . . .Contemporary photo of the area; 295 looks to be a considerably smaller building than 277 and much smaller than the current building on the site.*90c
. . . . .Google Map photo of the current building at 295.*90d



Note: Newspaper ads for Reilly stopped in late February or early March 1903 while Reilly was still at 277, and did not resume again until May 1904 with the shop located at 295 Oxford Street.*90e Thus it appears that Reilly closed down completely for 14 months. Reilly only made about 175 guns from the time of the move from 277 to bankruptcy in June 1912, a sad commentary on the end of a storied firm.

For 1903, the chart has Reilly making only 8 guns in an 8 week period before closing (and that might be optimistic). When gun making resumed in May 1904, the chart has him making 40 guns for 1904:

. . . . . SN 35386 (1903): The last extant gun made at 277 Oxford Street should be 35394 a .410 SxS shotgun (private gun - no details).*90f

. . . . .SN 35394 (1904): The first extant gun with 295 Oxford Street, London on the rib is 35394 (it has a second serial number on it from an unknown source), a .410 single-barrel side-lever rook rifle, dated by the below chart to May 1904.*90g

The trade label continued to be the 1897 “4 medal” label but with “277” crossed out and “295” stamped above.*90h. Instruction label in the case likewise had the struck-out 277, but later used only 295. (both examples below are from guns made by Reilly 1880-1897 and refurbished after the move to 295 Oxford Street). No presentation cases with only "295" have as yet been found.




*91 1904-1912: Reilly reduced to finishing guns bought in the white?

With this possible shutdown of the company for 14 months, it is doubtful that young Bert Reilly could have kept his gunsmiths employed. In addition, from the time the company reopened until bankruptcy eight years later, only a very small number of guns were serial numbered by Reilly, less than 25 a year. Thus it is hard to imagine Reilly after May 1904 as a complete gun-making firm as it was in the heady days of JC and EM. Bert Reilly probably resorted to finishing guns provided by outworkers in the white and concentrated on repairing and updating guns.

There are Reilly guns serial numbered n the 1880’s that bear the 295 address on the barrel or case placed after they had obviously been brought in for new barrels or for service.*90a His case labels and advertisements seem to confirm this.*91b .

Reportedly during this period (per IGC) at least one gun was built with "J.C. Reilly" and the old "Holborn Bars" address on the rib. No photos exist of this alleged gun and additional information was not provided by IGC which did not footnote its Reilly history.

There is an extant Reilly rifle converted to a shotgun which is a pair with a new four digit serial number code. What this means is unclear. This gun very much resembles Reilly rifle SN 35554:

. . . . .SN .1833 (Outlier which in the chronology should date to late 1830's) - E.M. Reilly & Co., (rebarrelled by John Harper). 12 gauge SxS Shotgun. BLE. Repurposed from a big bore rifle. 26" barrels, pistol grip. #2 of pair*91c

. . . . .SN 35554 (1907): E.M. Reilly & Co., 295, Oxford Street, London. .500/.465 SxS Nitro Express rifle, BLE. (This cartridge was introduced by Holland&Holland in spring 1907.*91d



There is one Reilly SN 35614 which has a serial number on the barrel for Holloway sent in by Marc Crudrington. This is one of the very few serial numbered Reilly’s, which appear to have been built definitively by a firm other than Reilly himself. The Holloway SN would date the gun to 1911. This in and of itself is significant since it skews the “numbered guns built chart."
. . . . . . . . . .-- (At the same time there is something odd about this gun; the engraving seems to revert to pre-1860 Reilly engraving and looks nothing at all like the other surviving Reilly’s from that time period. The differences are so striking as to call into question the authenticity of the gun, its serial number and address).

. . . . .SN 35614: E.M. Reilly & Co. 295 Oxford Street, London. 12 bore SxS Shotgun; self-cocking, Side-lock, ejector built by Holloway SN "H8113" (1911) *91e

This said, there are other Reilly’s from 1911 including an extant pair, which have no outside-worker marks on them as far as can be determined from auction house advertisements and which look like proper Reilly's.*91f

. . . . .SN 35673 (1911): E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London. 12 bore. Shotgun SxS. Sidelock. #1 of pair.
. . . . .SN 35674 (1911): E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London. 12 bore. Shotgun SxS. Sidelock. #2 of pair.



The last extant serial numbered Reilly gun found so far is SN 35678, E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). 12 bore Shotgun SxS. Boxlock.