Need help from Alexander Henry experts: Here's another Henry Rifling Adams & Tait Patent use number graph, concentrating on known guns with established dates of delivery. (Assuming that A&T began to make Henry rifling patent barrels in Birmingham in 1862 as reported on the internet).
. . .3,. . . 4** - A Samul & C,Smith muzzle loader with the crest of a fellow who died in 1868, converted to center break gun by G.E. Lewis of Birmingham (date not stated but one of the first A&T guns
1862? )
. 399, .400 - SN 18797 - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street London & rue Scribe, Paris. .500 BPE, U-L, hammer gun dated mid
1874. 448, .449 - SN 18856 - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street London & Rue Scribe. Paris. Sxs .500 BPE. U-L, hammer gun. dated
18741355, 1356** - SN 3210 - Alexander Henry double rifle made for Queen Victoria, completed
Dec 1873 - presented to her bodyguard John Brown.
1844, 1855 - SN 3585 - Alexander Henry double rifle made for Prince of Wales,
1874-52459, 2460 - Alexander Henry ,450 BPE SxS Rifle given by Prince of Wales in India. Completed on
7 Sep 18753369, 3370 - Alexander Henry .500x3” BPE SxS Rifle.
3524, 3525 - SN 21361 - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London & Rue Scribe, Paris. .450BPE. Rifle SxS. U-L, hammer gun.
mid-18783756 - T.Bland cape rifle. 12 ga/.577. delivered
19 Aug 18845046, 5047 - SN 6122 - Alexander Henry, Rifle SxS, BPE 20/.577. Completed
Jan 1888.
5304, 5305 - SN? - Alexander Henry, Rifle SxS. BPE dated
1888.
The 3 Reilly gun use numbers fall significantly outside the curve... But their dates of manufacture are very solid and those three guns indeed had those patent use numbers - photos don't lie.
Original Questions from above:
-- Do patent records for Henry still exist? Who might have them?
-- What is the difference between a straight forward Henry rifling patent use # and a Henry rifling A&T use # - if any?
-- How did Henry extend his patent for another 14 years in 1874?
-- Did the use #'s start anew in 1874?More questions (Donald Dallas wrote a great book about Alexander Henry; surely someplace there is info on his relationship with Adams and Tait and their use of his patent on their barrels.)
1. Were the barrels stamped with the Henry Patent use # when finished individually, or when they were paired with a gun?
2. Who stamped the barrels with the patent use number and when? A&T or the gun maker?
3. When are barrels for a gun delivered to the gun maker? If a gun has a "delivery date" recorded for giving the gun to a customer....how much earlier than this date would the barrels have been stamped with the patent use number or delivered to the gunmaker?
4. Could a gunmaker order 50 individual tubes from A&T and join them together later as necessary in house? (unlikely)
5. If a gun maker...Alexander Henry say...ordered barrels from A&T would A&T make the barrels to certain Henry specifications, or would Henry make the action to fit the barrels and lumps on the barrels once they were in hand?
Oh and by the way, "what is a Henry Patent A&T use #" anyway? Is it a Hentry Patent on an A&T barrel? Did Henry use other barrel makers and is his patent stamped on their barrels?Talking to David Trevallion today answered some of the questions. The barrels originally would have been tubes with roughed-in flats and lumps. The barrel maker will choose two tubes. At that point the pat use number will be stamped on them. The barrel maker then shapes them, joins them, the filer then goes to work on the lumps. So the Pat use number could well be stamped on the barrels six months before the gun is completed. The gun serial number, however is assigned when the gun is ordered which could be 3 years before the gun is delivered.
