Ok new question ....1860, 15 Nov - Henry patent 2802 - 7 groove shallow rifling, I'm assuming that by 1871 when Henry rifling was adopted for the service Martini-Henry, that his rifling systems became ubiquitous. Now the question. the Patent would have expired normally in 1874. I'm finding the patent on Reilly guns up into 1880.
And new use numbers appear which may have started again when Author Adams & Joseph Henry Tait (A&T) began making barrels in Birmingham in 1862 for Alexander Henry. Here are a couple of Reilly's I've dated to 1874 (when the patent should have expired)...but those use numbers look very low for a patent that originated in 1860 and was by 1874 used by everybody.
18797 - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street London & rue Scribe, Paris. .500 BPE, U-L, hammer gun, Henry Patent A&T use# 399, 400
18856 - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street London & Rue Scribe. Paris. Sxs .500 BPE. U-L, rebounding back-action hammer gun. Henry Patent A&T use# 448, 449
Did A&T issue their own use numbers? When did this start...they formed a partnership in 1862 and were in business until 1899 or so. Can anybody make sense of these numbers? What's the difference between a Henry patent use number and a Henry patent A&T use number? And how did Henry extend his patent beyond 1874?
For instance here in an 1878 Reilly with Henry patent use numbers on it (unless it's a different patent):
21361 - E.M. Reilly & Co., Oxford Street, London & Rue Scribe, Paris. .450BPE. Rifle SxS. U-L, hammer gun. Henry patent use #3524, #3525
Last edited by Argo44; 03/22/20 12:59 AM.
