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

Thanks to Stephen Howell for calling this to my attention:

There is a single barrel Reilly advertised on Holts - a .297/.250 side-lever rook rifle.
https://www.holtsauctioneers.com/as...+++713+&refno=++204441&saletype=

Holts says in the advertisement that the SN is "2943." Holts' own photos, however, shows a Reilly SN 35394 on the gun. It has "E.M. Reilly & Co., 295, Oxford Street, London" on the barrel; the chart originally dated this SN to early 1903:


But there is a problem. Holts' already has published a Reilly SxS shotgun allegedly with SN 35394, a 12 bore without mention of an address on the rib and with very minimal photos, which was postulated to be the last gun built in Feb 1903 at 277 Oxford Street.
https://www.holtsauctioneers.com/as...++5608+&refno=++149905&saletype=


Obviously there can't be two 35394's. So it's best to believe the eyes and put the rook rifle into this slot and not the SxS which only relies on Holts' advertising accuracy. This is going to require a slight redo of the chart again around the time of the changeover from 277 to 295 Oxford Street, Feb 1903 - May 1904.
-- 35394 (the rook rifle) now moves to May 1904.
-- 35386 (address on barrel not mentioned), a .410 top lever SxS, is now assumed to be the last extant Reilly gun made at 277 Oxford Street Feb 1903. It is owned by "Roger Hill" and was mentioned in one post but no other references.
-- Reilly "3"'s and "5"'s are very similar and have often been confused. So, the 12 bore, Side lock, non extractor SxS advertised by Holts as "35394," has been moved to the 35594 slot (with a question mark). (Holts has mis-advertised Reilly's before).

Holts started off referencing this site's work. About 4 years ago I wrote to them about a couple of misidentifications. They have since gone their own way on dating Reilly's and refuse to use the work at all, alone amongst the other auction houses, or even to answer any queries. The gun industry is filled up with egos and opinions and these can get personal and dogmatic in a hurry and evidence be damned.

Edit: Holt's has actually responded and changed their ad to incorporate the data - the date of the gun and the Reilly SN; but they unfortunately could provide nothing historical back on the 2020 SxS.