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======= *74 1878-81: Two outlier Trade Labels TEXT =======

*74 1878-81: Two outlier Trade Labels

There are two attractive floral outlier trade labels from this period:

. . . . .Label 1:*74a This is a label from Reilly .450 BPE SxS rifle SN 21369 (Serial numbered in 1878 per the chart).*74b The label is from 315 Oxford Street (pre-Nov 1881). It has floral capitals which more resemble those from UK gun labels in the 1890's.*74c



. . . . .Label 2:*74c This label is very similar to the above. It came in a case for SN 10354, a Reilly SxS muzzle loader shotgun from 1857, transformed per records into a center-break, U-L breech-loader allegedly in 1895-1904 (per the consignor).*74d However the label has the "502 New Oxford Street" address...pre-Nov 1881. I could be that the case is not original to the rebuilt gun.



===== *74 1878-81: Two outlier Trade Labels END TEXT =====

======= *75 1875-1890: Reilly Builds Pigeon Guns TEXT =======

*75 1869-1890: Reilly and Pigeon Guns

From the late 1860’s to 1890's Reilly was heavily involved in building pigeon guns. His first specific advertisement for a purpose built pigeon gn was in 1869.*75a His guns regularly won or placed at all levels of competition, his first recorded win being in 1972.*75b He regularly donated guns to be awarded away as prizes in pigeon shoots, both at the most prestigeous UK shooting clubs and at international events beginning in 1869.*75c

In 1882 Reilly won the year-long Hurlingham “gun-makers’ cup” championship per the 1883 Holt’s Shooting Calendar.*75d Reilly’s pigeon guns from these early 1880 years were specifically built to match the Hurlingham weight limits and thus can be used, along with other data, as something of a sanity check on date markers for dating Reilly guns. Following are examples:

. . . . .For the 1882 season Hurlingham rules weight limit for pigeon guns was fixed at 8 lbs, The below Reilly pigeon gun was built in late 1881 for the upcoming 1882 season. It weighs 8 lbs exactly and was serial numbered in December 1881; it was owned by noted SxS afficianado and helice marksman Cyril Adams:

. . . . . . . . . .SN 23574 (Dec 1881) - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). 12 bore; Shotgun SxS; S-L, Pigeon gun, third bite, hammer gun. Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" Whitworth Steel barrels; 8 lbs (Cyril Adams) *75e

. . . . .For the 1883 season Hurlingham weight limit was reduced to 7 lbs 8 oz. The below three Reilly Pigeon guns serial numbered in autumn 1882 were built to this standard, 24534 being a Cyril Adams gun:

. . . . . . . . . .SN 24365 (Sep 1882) - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). Shotgun SxS, 12 bore, top lever; Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" Whitworth steel barrels, pigeon gun. 7 lbs 8 oz.*75f

. . . . . . . . . .SN 24534 (Nov 1882) - E.M. Reilly & Co., 315, Oxford Street, London. 12 bore SxS Shotgun pigeon gun; top lever, hammer gun; Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31” Whitworth steel brls. 7 lbs 8 oz (Cyril Adams)*75g

. . . . . . . . . .SN 24650 (Dec 1882) - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London and rue Scribe, Paris. 12 bore, S-L, hammer gun. Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; Pigeon gun, 30” Whitworth steel brls. 7 lbs 7oz*75h

. . . . .There is an Reilly pigeon gun built to "The Gun Club" standard weight in 1881 which was several ounces heavier than Hurlingham, which was previously owned by Cyril Adams:

. . . . . . . . . .SN 23355 (mid-1881) - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London & rue Scribe, Paris. 12 bore. Top lever, pigeon, hammer gun. 32” brls. 8 lbs 14.5 oz.*75i

The Monte Carlo pigeon shooting tournament in January of each years was regarded as a sort of unofficial world championship.*75j. A well known Italian marksman pigeon shooter Giuseppe Guidicini*75k using a Reilly pigeon gun placed 2nd in the 1884 Monte Carlo pigeon shoot and won it all for the 1885 season (shot in Monaco in January 1886). Reilly advertised his win in the London papers in January and early February 1886.*75l

The following quote is from Wyman's 1888 Industrial Encyclopedia on Reilly Pigeon gun success:

At the end of the 1882 season “Holts” Calendar gave the aggregate of winnings, of which the following statement was made about Messrs. Reilly’s guns.
--“Season of 1882, won at the priciple shooting clubs near London – 17 Prize Cups, value £519; a Gold Medal, value £50; a silver medal and £6,148 in specie (equivilant to $750,000 today); which was nearly twice as much in prizes and specie as by guns of any other maker.”
-- In the season of 1883 Messrs. Reilly were again very successful, and gentlemen shooting with their guns at Hurlingham and the Gun Club won 16 Cups, value £505, and £3,162 in specie results which again placed Reilly a very long way in front of other gunmakers.
-- In the season of 1884 they headed the list of winning guns, their patrons securing cups and £3,982, nearly £3,000 in money prizes.
-- In 1885 they were also successful, 13 cups and £2,603 being the prizes won by their guns at the principal shooting clubs.
-- The Grand Prix du Casino, the principle "objet d’art" of the International Meeting at Monaco was won in 1886 by Signor Guidicini, the Italian sportsman who was second the previous season Besides the valuable trophy, estimated at 5,000 francs, the Signor won 18,250 francs, (about $200,000 today) killing 19 birds consecutively within the limited boundary, shooting with one of Messr. Reilly’s full-choke 12-bore pigeon guns, defeating seventy-four other competitors*75m

===== *75 1875-1890: Reilly Builds Pigeon Guns END TEXT =====

======= *76 1882: Reilly and Steel Barrels TEXT =======

*76 1882: Reilly and Steel Barrels

In January 1882 Reilly advertised for the first time guns equipped with Whitworth compressed fluid steel barrels.*76a The Whitworth compressed steel barrel originally was a 1865 patent and was marked with the Whitworth “Grain Sheaf” trademark.*76b The patent was extended in 1879 for 5 years. However, such was the regard for the Whitworth product that even after the patent expired in 1884, gun makers still put the “Grain Sheaf” trademark stamp on their barrels as a sign of quality; it is on a Reilly 16 bore steel barrel numbered in 1886 for example.

The first known Reilly with “Compressed Steel barrels” (per the advertisement), which are presumably Whitworth since no one else had “compressed steel,” is the above December 1881 Cyril Adams pigeon gun:

. . . . .SN 23574 (Dec 1881): - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). 12 bore; Shotgun SxS; S-L, Pigeon gun, third bite, hammer gun. Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" "Compressed Steel" barrels; 8 lbs (Cyril Adams)*75b

The first Reilly steel barreled gun, which actually pictures the “wheat sheaf” Whitworth trademark, is another pigeon gun from above 24365:

. . . . .SN 24365 (Sep 1882): - E.M. Reilly & Co., (address not mentioned). Shotgun SxS, 12 bore, top lever; Side clips; Flat file cut rib; low profile hammers; 31" Whitworth steel barrels, pigeon gun. 7 lbs 8 oz.*75c

There is an 1876 Reilly SxS rifle that appears to have steel barrels, but may be blued Damascus, the advertisement gun description being minimal:

. . . . .SN 19953 (1876): - E.M. Reilly & Co., New Oxford Street, London. 500 BPE. Rifle SxS. U-L hammer gun, steel barrels. Round back-acton lock. 28”*76c

It's interesting that as late as 1888 WW Greener in his book Modern Shotguns stated that Whitworth Steel barrels were not as strong as high-quality Damascus. Reilly for his part continued to use Damascus for the majority of his barrels up to the early 1900's. By that time the Damascus blanks came from Liege.

===== *76 1882: Reilly and Steel Barrels END TEXT =====

=== *77 1878-82: Reilly endorsed by prominent explorers/hunters TEXT ===

*77 1853-82: Reilly endorsed by prominent explorers and hunters

Throughout the 1870’s and 80’s Reilly published endorsements of his guns by famous big game hunters and explorers in his large advertisements.**77a. These included:

-- Henry Morton Stanley, the Welsh-American and perhaps the most famous of all African explorers.*77b. He searched central africa for Livingstone (“Dr. Livingstone I presume”), became the first European to descend the Congo from Lake Tanganyika and then returned to lay out the posts for the King of Belgium that assured control of the Congo, etc.

. . . . .Quote from How I Found Livingston:

. . . . . . . . .“For the rifle , with due deference to old sportsmen, of course the best guns for African game are the Lancaster and Reilly rifles.”*77c

-- Dr. David Livingstone:*77d British missionary and noted African explorer who traveled widely in southern and central Africa, being the first to traverse the continent at that latitude. He searched for the source of the Nile discovering numerous lakes and rivers in what is now Tanzania, Malawi, Congo and Zimbabwe. He disappeared in the late 1860’s for 6 years 4 of which he was ill, prompting huge European interest in his fate. Stanley set out in an expedition sponsored by his newspaper the New York Herald and found him in 1871.

. . . . .Quote from How I Found Livingstone:p.58.

. . . . . . . . . .“...during the time I traveled with Dr. Livingstone the Doctor lent me his heavy Reilly rifle with which I seldom failed to bring an animal or two home to the camp….. The feats related by Capt. Speck and Sir Samuel Baker are no longer a matter of wonderment to the young sportsman when he has a Lancaster or a Reilly in his hand.”*77e

-- Frederick Selous, noted Victorian era African hunter and author:*77f Salous was an amazing man. He set out for Africa at the age of 19 in 1871 and became one of the most famous African hunters and later conservationists. His charisma enveloped everyone who met him including Theordore Roosevelt and it is believed he is the model for the "Alan Quartermaine" movies. He was killed fighting the Germans in East Africa in 1916 at the age of 65. Although Selous used mostly muzzle-loaders up to about 1880 he did take a Reilly rifle with him on his first trip to Africa (perhaps influenced by Samuel Baker):

. . . . . . . . . .“Frederick Selous, 21, traveled light with just a blanket, a bag of cornmeal, two crude muzzle-loaders and two leather sacks–one for powder, the other for shot. His fine Reilly double rifle was stolen almost as soon as he arrived in Africa.“ *77g

-- Sir Samuel Baker:*77h the most famous Victorian hunter of all, of course, began using Reilly heavy rifles in the early 1850’s, had Reilly build explosive shells for him, and continued to use his Reilly connection to the end of his hunting life as previously mentioned.

. . . . .The Rifle And Hound In Ceylon (1853, republished in 1872 with the below quote):

. . . . . . . . . .”For many years I have been supplied with firstrate No. 10 rifles by Messrs. Reilly & Co. of Oxford Street, London, which have never become in the slightest degree deranged during the rough work of wild hunting. Mr. Reilly was most successful in the manufacture of explosive shells from my design; these were cast-iron coated with lead, and their effect was terrific.”*77i

. . . . .“Exploration of the Nile and Abyssinia.” (1868)

. . . . . . . . . .Among the guns Baker listed for his expedition were “Two double rifles, no. 10, by Reilly”*77j

= *76 1878-82: Reilly endorsed by prominent explorers/hunters END TEXT =

I have to leave the Sahara a week early and won't have 6 dead hours on my hand every night. I'm going to hurry up to finish posting the expanded history paragraph by paragraph - originally broken up to assist footnoting - before returning home. I'll mark where I have footnotes and if there are questions can forward them to the questioner. it's a shame all the photos have disappeared. The guns and labels need to be seen to be understood. I'll figure out a way to repost them next year maybe...it'll take another 100 posts though.

======= *78 1882-1885: International Expositions TEXT =======

*78 1882-1885: International Expositions:

1882 Calcutta Fair: Reilly exhibited at the 1882-3 Calcutta fair (a British Empire only affair) and won a medal.*78a

1884-1885 London Exposition: Reilly won a Gold Medal at the 1884 "London Exhibition" and was highly praised for his exhibit at the 1885 London International Inventions Expositions where he won a silver medal.*78b

Note there were three different international expositions in London in 1884-85;
-- An exposition at Crystal Palace;
-- the International Health Exposition of 1884; and
-- the International Inventions Exposition of 1885.
Reilly apparently won a gold medal at the International Health Exposition, although he publicized the medals only as “London Exhibition 1884.” The medals from the International Health Exposition appeared on his labels own 1885.*78c

Reilly also won a silver medal at the International Inventions Exposition which was mentioned in several advertisements but the medals never put onto his labels;

Reilly's exhibit at this exposition is described in Wyman:

“Messrs. Reily & Co.'s stand at the Intrnational Inventioins Exhibition of 1885 was acknowledged to have been one of the best appointed exhibits. (…..3 paragraphs of detailed description of guns found including .450 and .500 heavy double rifles, breech loading hammer and hammerless guns with ejectors, A&D boxlocks, Cape Guns, boys and naturalist guns, etc…..)..helping make up a well-appointed miniature gun-shop in the Exhibition Hall”*78d.

Note: One Reilly "naturalist" shotgun exists from this period (a small gun made to take wildlife samples without tearing them to shreds):

. . . . .SN 25851 (1884:) E.M. Reilly & Co., 16, New Oxford Street, London and rue Scribe, Paris. Shotgun SxS. 410. Side lever, hammer gun. Naturalist's "sample" gun.*78e.

===== *78 1882-1885: International Expositions END TEXT =====

======= *79 1884-1885: Reilly outlier label TEXT =======

*79 1884-1885: Reilly outlier label

Outlier label with the three kings: Two examples of yet another Reilly "outlier" label from this period have been found. It is for 16, New Oxford Street and mentions both 277 Oxford Street and 2 rue Scribe Paris. It has the coats of arms of the Kings of Portugal, Spain and Netherlands. It also mentions “wholesale and retail,” and “Gun and Rifle Manufacturers.” How this Reilly label fits into the label chronology is unclear but the guns associated with the label were numbered in 1884 and 1885.*79a



===== *79 1884-1885: Reilly outlier label END TEXT =====

======= *80 July 1885: Closure of the Paris Branch TEXT =======

*80 July 1885: Closure of the Paris Branch

In July 1885 rue Scribe was closed. The reasons for this are not known - hand made guns were being sold at a very high rate; it may have had to do with the departure of a long-time partner (possibly a M. Poirat? M. Poirat was the agent for Reilly in 1871, mentioned in French parliamentary records when Reilly tried to sell the stock of Chassepot rifles in Birmingham to the French Republic).

The closure is confirmed by Reilly advertisements in the main-stream press. “Rue Scribe, Paris” is present in advertisements in “The Field” in late July 1885; It is noticeably absent in the same ad in early August 1885 and in all other newspaper advertisements from then on.*80a

. . . . .SN 27340 (July 1885): The last extant SN'd gun with rue Scribe on the rib is 27340, a 12 bore SxS top-lever, hammer-gun, shotgun. The address on the rib is “New Oxford Street, London & rue Scribe, Paris.”*80b

===== *80 July 1885: Closure of the Paris Branch END TEXT =====

== *81 1885-86: Satellite Paris - 29 rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré, Paris? TEXT ==

*81 1885-1886: Satellite Paris address at 29 rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré, Paris?

Sometime in early 1885 Reilly apparently opened a small satellite branch of 2 rue Scribe, Paris at 29 rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré, Paris for a short time. Attached are some geographical notations on this alleged branch:
. . . . .Map of rue du Faubourg:*81a
. . . . .Contemporary photo of rue du Faubourg.*81b
. . . . .Photo of 29 rue du Faubourg:*81c

Five different gun case labels have been found with this address. The rue du Faubourg labels are generally in the classic post 1861 Reilly format but are not scolloped (edit: a sixth has been found with scollops). They feature the usual main 16, New Oxford Steet address with the 277 Oxford street branch; the rue du Faubourg address is located where 2 rue Scribe had been for 17 years. The labels illustrate the 1867 Paris medals in the upper left hand corner and the 1884 London International Exposition medals in the right. This seemingly dates these labels and correspondingly the existence of this shop from late 1884 after the International Health exhibit to early 1885.*81d



The scroll work on the rue du Faubourg label is different from that on the classic pre-1885 Reilly label and seems to precede the scroll later used on the stand-alone 16, New Oxford Street label with no Paris address issued after August 1885. Attached are comparisons of the three labels.*81e
. . . . . . . . . ._____________________
. . . . . . . . . |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |. . . .Reilly Label. . . . .|
. . . . . . . . . |. . . . scroll work . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |____________________|

One of the labels appears on SN 26880, a gun dated to Feb 1885.*81f However, this label was also is found in a case housing SN 22432, dated 1880 and bought by a man who died in 1882 (the label obviously was added later, possibly after a repair).*81g

There is an argument as to whether rue du Faubourg existed after Reilly closed 2 rue Scribe late July 1885. The argument is summarized below:

. . .-- Evidence against the existance of rue du Faubourg after 31 July 1885 closure of 2 rue Scribe:
. . . . .- No newspaper advertisements for this branch exist. It should have been publicized by Reilly had it been more than a transient sales shop.
. . . . .- No extant guns have thus far been found with this address on their ribs.
. . . . .- After July 1885 there is no mention of “Paris” in any of the Reilly advertisements in the mass popular daily papers.

. . .-- Evidence for the existence of rue du Faubourg after July 1885.

. . . . .- There are five extant labels carrying this address.



. . . . .- It was a prestigious location - Coco Chanel's apartments were above it in another century.*81h In addition to very fashionable Paris shops, Some Parisian gun makers had factories/workshops/show rooms on rue du Faubourg. The road was also the heart of the English speaking community living in Paris a la “Belle Époque” including the home of the British ambassador to France. A sales-shop in that area would seem to be a logical Reilly commercial decision. But it would have been advertised.

. . . . .- There are three extant Reilly guns serial numbered after the closure of 2 rue Scribe - which have "Paris" on their barrels. Two of these are a SxS pair built on the Scott "triplex" system. Counter argument: The guns or barrels could have been labeled before the closure of 2 rue Scribe and used a year later.*81i

. . . . .-There are magazine advertisements stretching into 1887 for Reilly at "Paris." Counter argument: Some of these are long term advertisements that were not changed over a several years.*81j

. . . . .- A series of brief paid-for ads appeared in the January-February 1886 London press touting a win at the Monte Carlo pigeon shoot by Italian champion pigeon shooter Giuseppe Guidicini using a Reilly with the rue du Faubourg address per the pigeon gun chapter above. (see chapter *75 above) The paid for articles were likely placed by Reilly; at the time he had no compunction about advertising a rue du Faubourg address; whether this was for prestige (Paris) or because he was indeed still in Paris is yet to be determined.*81k

A review of Parisian government records will likely solve this mystery. There are yearly surveys of businesses per street in Paris during this period and postal records are also available both of which should illustrate the existance of a Reilly Armurier at rue du Faubourg from circa early 1885 to early-mid-1886. However, the records are not on line and so far the French archives located in Paris have not been helpful. The lack of advertising for the shop is perplexing and this matter will continue to be looked into.

(Edit: There is a growing suspicion that Reilly may have had no store at all at 29 rue du Faubourg and that this was only an "accomodation address," perhaps using the address of an English tailor located at the site.*81l. Reilly was not above such subterfuges. Paris postal directories should solve this mystery).

= *80 1885-86: Satellite Paris - 29 rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré, Paris? END TEXT =

======= *82 July 1885: Change in Reilly labels TEXT =======

*82 July 1885: Change in Reilly labels

The labels for both London branches changed slightly with the closure of 2 rue Scribe on 31 July 1885. The new labels retained the essence of the original 1861 labels. These labels were used from the clusure of rue Scribe, Paris in July-August 1885 to the closure of 16 New Oxford Street in May 1897.

. . . . .-- 16, New Oxford Street, continued with the scolloped corners, double outlining following the model of the 1861 and 1868 labels. It has the 1867 medals in the upper left corner but with the 1884 London International Exposition gold medal in the upper right.*82a



. . . . . . . . . .The new label also advertised different guns in the scroll work at the bottom of the label.*82b
. . . . . . . . . ._____________________
. . . . . . . . . |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |. . . .Reilly Label. . . . .|
. . . . . . . . . |. . . . scroll work . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |____________________|

. . . . .-- 277, Oxford Street also continued its label tradition without the scollops or border lining.*82c



. . . . . . . . . .Likewise some of the descriptions in scroll work in the center of the new label were changed.*82d
. . . . . . . . . ._____________________
. . . . . . . . . |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |. . . .Reilly Label. . . . .|
. . . . . . . . . |. . . . scroll work . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |____________________|

======= *82 July 1885: Change in Reilly labels TEXT =======

======= *83 Reilly in the Late 1880's: TEXT =======

*83 Reilly in the Late 1880's:

Reilly exhibited at the 1889 Paris World's Fair, the "Tour Eiffel" Exposition Universelle,*83a and won a silver medal.*83b However, for some reason he chose not to publicize the medal. Wesley-Richards won the overall gold medal and every English gunmaker entered in the exposition was awarded a silver medal; perhaps Reilly felt this degraded the accomplishment.

A nasty law-suit "Reilly vs Booth" on easement limitations to the Salavation Army Hall behind his establishment at 277 Oxford Street was litigated. The legal decision is cited to this day.*83c

The fact is, something changed with the firm after 1886. Reilly's guns regularly won competitions*83d and were donated to be given as prizes at high-end shooting competitions. *83e Advertisements continued to fill the papers publicizing his sale of all sorts of guns, “Elephant and Tiger Rifles,” Magnum Express Rifles,” “Express double and single Rifles,” “Self-extracting hammerless shotguns,” etc.*83f Many ads noted his offering of his “Special Pigeon Guns,” “of great power; Hurlingham weight, Whitworth barrels, below line-of-sight hammers.”*83g

But, the company just gradually seemed to go backward. His guns used many of the latest patents but numbered guns made per year declined from its height of 1050 in 1885 to about 700 in 1889. The cocky swagger of the 1860's seemed to have burnt itself out.

===== *83 Reilly in the Late 1880's:END TEXT =====