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

The Paris episode was split into 4 parts to make posting footnote pictures easier. I won't be doing posting photographs for the moment - it's a shame - there is important history in them; but have left the chapters divided per below so when I feel like tackling this again, it will be easier.

====== *60 1867-1870, Paris-1: Reilly Takes on Paris, Again TEXT ======

*60 1867-1870, Paris-1: Reilly Takes on Paris, Again; Gun-Maker for Napoleon III

EM Reilly always seemed to be enamored with Paris and as the 1867 Paris Universelle exposition*60a approached, he meticulously prepared an exhibit*60b that was extensively lauded.*60c It won him gold and silver medals.*60d

Note: Apparently the entire exhibit of Reilly guns at the Paris Universelle was bought by Grand Duke Constantine (son of Czar Nikolas I) and Count Nikolay Alexandrovich Orloff, who was then the Russian ambassador to Belgium, at the time the cockpit flash-point of Europe. (Russia and UK guaranteed Belgian independence).*60e

As a result of the medals E.M. Reilly became a "gun maker" for Napoleon III.*60f, *60g


==== *60 1867-1870, Paris-1: Reilly Takes on Paris, Again END TEXT ===
=== *61 February 1868-1870, Paris-2: Reilly opens 2 rue Scribe TEXT ===

*61 February 1868-1870, Paris-2: Reilly opens 2 rue Scribe, Paris as “E.M. Reilly & Cie”

Reilly’s triumph in Paris led him in February 1868 to open a branch office (EM Reilly & Cie.) at 2 rue Scribe, Paris where orders for his guns could be taken.*61a The store was located in the Grand Hotel near the Gare du Nord, a prime location (British travelers to Paris arrived at the Gare du Nord).*61b, *61c, *61d This branch office remained open for the next 17 years.

. . . . .-- SN 14983 - The first extant gun with 2 rue Scribe on the rib is 14983, an 8 bore SxS under-lever, hammer gun shotgun (with a firing system very much resembling the earlier Lancaster "base-fire" action - other observers note that it was very like the Pape patent with retractable firing pins).*61e

The extant gun’s hammers resemble the hammers pictured in Reilly ads at the time.*61f

. . . . .-- SN 15287 - A second center fire 12 gauge shotgun hammer gun from this period with similar hammers.*61g

Note: The French press in articles about Reilly in the 20th century has claimed that the artistic elegance and balance of a Reilly gun came from its association with Paris.*61h


== *61 February 1868-1870, Paris-2: Reilly opens 2 rue Scribe END TEXT ==
============ *62 1868-1897 – Paris-3: New Label TEXT ===============

*62 1868-1897 – Paris-3: New Label

His case labels changed at this time to feature the two medals won at the 1867 World's Fair and often (but not always) mentioned both branch addresses.*62a, *62b



His presentation cases appeared to be red velvet with the 502 and 2 rue Scribe addresses on them, sometimes with no "promotion clause", sometimes with "Gun Manufacturers" below the name:
. . . . . . . . . ._____________________. . . . . . . . . ._____________________
. . . . . . . . . |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |. . . . . . . . . |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |. . . .Reilly Label. . . . .|. . . . . . . . . |. . . .Reilly Label. . . . .|
. . . . . . . . . |. . . Presentation . . . . |. . . . . . . . . |. . . Presentation . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . |____________________|. . . . . . . . . |____________________|

========== *62 1868-1897 – Paris-3: New Label END TEXT ===========
==== *63 1870, Paris-4: Fall of Napoleon III; Reilly Prosecuted TEXT ====

*63 1870, Paris-4: Fall of Napoleon III; Reilly Prosecuted; Pro-French proclivities:

Two and a half years later the Franco-Prussian War broke out. After the battle of Sedan September 3, 1870 Napoleon III fell from power*63a - the Third French Republic was declared; the medals (with Napoleon III's profile on them disappeared from Reilly's case labels for awhile yet continued occasionally to resurface on both labels and in advertisements for the next 15 years.

Note: Napoleon III died in exile in England in 1873. His widow Empress Eugenia*63b bought a Reilly 12 bore SxS shotgun, while in England SN 17532 (dated per the chart to mid 1872), and a second Really 16 bore (SN unknown) both of which are now in the USA somewhere. Her son was killed in the Zulu Wars in 1879. She died in 1920 having been awarded the Order of the British Empire.

Reilly's affinity for France was well known and commented on in London newspapers at the time. (Was this possibly an Irish-French Catholic connection?)

-- A French woman was found in his house in the 1861 census;*63c

-- In Fall 1870 he was prosecuted for attempting to smuggle 2,000 shells to his rue Scribe address, a violation of UK neutrality in the conflict; The London press commented to the effect that this Reilly-Francophile affinity was inevitable (i.e. Reilly "couldn't help himself."). Reilly maintained that the French Republic had invaded his store and confiscated all the guns; he dared not resist their insistence on ammunition. (The cartridges in question were for Snider .577 sporting rifles in Reilly’s inventory in Paris. What happened to his shotguns is unknown).*63d, *63e, *63f

-- and in 1871 Reilly offered to sell 6,000 Chassepot rifles (stored in Birmingham) to the new French Republic. (Obviously the rifles were to be sent to France via some sort of back-channel; the French parliament - really a sort of 3rd Republic "Revolutionary Committee," hesitated over a few centimes of commission - the opportunity was lost).*63g

-- There are Reilly trade labels from the period where the owner of the gun has taken pains to erase the Paris address - Francophobia was alive and well in UK.*60h

-- And with this long-time connection, one must assume that early on, after the 1851 exposition, EM was in contact with French center-break breech-loader makers and must have been experimenting. He had contacts in Liège (as did Trantor or perhaps through Trantor) possibly as early as the 1850's.

-- Whether he spoke French is unknown. Howeveer, there are mid-1860’s Reilly advertisements which mention, “Ici on Parle Francais” (French spoken here).*63i


=== *63 1870, Paris-4: Fall of Napoleon III; Reilly Prosecuted; END TEXT ===