Originally Posted by Drew Hause
I humbly admit that the aliens running AI are impressive

Around the turn of the 20th century (c. 1900), the area around Piccadilly Circus in London was a hub for high-end sporting goods, gunmakers, and specialized retailers, particularly on the adjacent streets of Jermyn Street, Pall Mall, and Piccadilly itself.
Key gun makers and retailers in this immediate area included:
Leuchars & Son (38, 39, 47 Piccadilly): Established in 1794, they were renowned luxury retailers known for dressing cases and specialized in high-end sporting items, including guns. Although acquired by Asprey in 1888, they continued to operate under their own name at this location until 1902.
Henry Atkin (2 Jermyn Street): Located very close to Piccadilly Circus, Henry Atkin was a highly regarded maker of "best" guns. In 1905, they moved from 2 Jermyn Street to 41 Jermyn Street due to the demolition of the original premises for the Piccadilly Circus underground railway station.
Charles & Henry Egg (1 Piccadilly): Historically located at the corner of Piccadilly and Haymarket (1 Piccadilly), the Egg family was renowned for producing high-quality pistols and "Baby Eggs" miniatures. While the brothers died in the 1860s, the location at 1 Piccadilly was synonymous with the gun trade for decades.
Rowland Ward Ltd (Piccadilly): Known as "The Jungle," their Piccadilly shop was a renowned retailer of taxidermy and big-game hunting equipment, catering to colonial hunters and safari enthusiasts.
Buchanan Ltd (Piccadilly/Pall Mall): In 1900, this firm moved from Piccadilly to 15 Pall Mall, located just off Piccadilly Circus, where they continued to operate as high-end gun and sporting goods dealers before their decline in the years surrounding World War I.
William Evans (4 & 63 Pall Mall): While their gun room is now in Mayfair, William Evans operated close by on Pall Mall in the late 19th/early 20th century, catering to the same elite clientele in the immediate West End area.

I agree on the impressive part.

I asked: "What British gunmakers or retailers had a Piccadilly Circus address in the 8 years between 1896-1904?"

I got:

This is a quite specific and narrow historical research question. The searches have turned up two strong candidates with documented Piccadilly Circus addresses in the 1896–1904 window, and I want to be transparent that the broader database evidence here is limited without access to specialist references like Nigel Brown's British Gunmakers or the Internet Gun Club's full subscription database. Here is what the sources confirm:

  • F. T. Baker — In 1899, the Cockspur Street and 88 Fleet Street premises were given up and a new shop was opened at 29 Glasshouse Street, Regent Street. Glasshouse Street feeds directly into Piccadilly Circus, and guns from this period are marked "29 Glasshouse Street, Piccadilly Circus, London." In 1913 the firm became a limited liability company, F T Baker Ltd, and moved to 64 Haymarket. So Baker had a Piccadilly Circus address from 1899 through at least 1912, squarely covering the latter part of your window.
  • John Wilkes — A gun forum thread records a shotgun with proof marks circa 1904–25 engraved "John Wilkes, 1 Lower James St, Piccadilly Circus, London," with barrel flat proof marks looking to be circa 1904–25. Lower James Street (later renamed) ran immediately off the Circus. The company later moved through Soho — 31 Gerard Street 1913–1924, then 21 Broad Street 1924–1925, and Beak Street from 1926. This puts Wilkes at a Piccadilly Circus–adjacent address right at the tail end of your period, around 1904 and into the years following.


A few important caveats worth noting:

The term "Piccadilly Circus address" in the Victorian/Edwardian era was somewhat loose. Streets like Glasshouse Street, Lower James Street, and the Haymarket all fed off the Circus and were sometimes described as "Piccadilly Circus" on gun labels and trade cards, even if they were technically distinct street names.
The best scholarly sources for this question — Nigel Brown's British Gunmakers: Volume 1 (2004) and the Internet Gun Club's full historical database — would be the definitive places to look for a comprehensive list. Both catalogue London gunmakers by address and date range in exactly the kind of detail your question requires.
The well-known makers of the era such as Purdey (South Audley Street), Holland & Holland (Bond Street/Bruton Street), and James Woodward (St James's Street) were not at Piccadilly Circus in this period.