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*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




*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


*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 usually scalloped (one out the six is scalloped). 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 to originating as early as late 1884 after the International Health exhibit up to as late as 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 two labels.*81e (See below for illustrations).

One of the labels appears on SN 26880, a gun dated to Feb 1885.*81f However, this label was also 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 existence 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 existence 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 "accommodation 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).


*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 closure 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 scalloped 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
. . .Top: 1861-1885;
. . .Middle: rue du Faubourg 85-86;
. . .Bottom: Main label after Aug 1885 closure of rue Scribe



. . . . .-- 277, Oxford Street also continued its label tradition without the scallops or border lining.*82c
. . . . . . . . . .Likewise some of the descriptions in scroll work in the center of the new label were changed.*82d
. . .Top: Pre Aug 1885
. . .Bottom: Post closure of rue Scribe




*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, 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 Salvation 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 gradually declined from its height of 1050 in 1885 to about 900 in 1889. The cocky swagger of the 1860's seemed to have burnt itself out.


. . . . . XII. DEATH OF EM REILLY; DECLINE AND FALL: 1890-1918:


*84 1890: Death of E.M. Reilly and aftermath:

In July 1890 EM Reilly contracted broncho-pneumonia and passed away.*84a, 84b, 84c

Of Reilly's “acknowledged” sons Charles A. was 20, Herbert H. was 15, and Gerald Atol was 13 - all still in school, none apparently with the hands-on gun-making expertise that EM had in his upbringing. His first "son" Edward Montague, who he referred to as “my reputed son,” was 23 and apparently working as a locomotive mechanic (see below).

In his will*84d E.M left a sum of about £8,000 (about $1.2 million today). This was in addition to the two buildings held freehold (probably by the company), the guns, the tools, etc. (The structure of the company and Reilly’s partners, if any, are still not known).

His wife Mary Ann was in her 40's. Business was still lively. Widows did successfully manage companies in England at the time after the deaths of their husbands. EM specifically did not leave his wife the "trade books."*84e However, newspaper articles on the later death of her son Edward Montague seem to indicate that Mary was indeed running the company during this time.*84f

With EM’s death the light of Reilly entrepreneurship went out. Mary Ann Reilly had to operate in a "man's world" and no matter how strong willed, there were serious obstacles for her.

Subsequently, his sons on their majority did not seem to have the hands-on knowledge of the gun manufacturing trade that EM had hammered into him in the 1830's. Nor did they have the generational connections to the business, or the understanding of the complex intertwining’s of its execution. The gun-trade was always a sort of dance while juggling a number of balls
-- relationship to outworkers,
-- handling in-house bench workers,
-- dealing with importation of parts (from Belgium) and the licensing for manufacturing others' patents,
-- contacts with Birmingham mass production factories
-- kowtowing to the upper class,
-- staying abreast of market trends,
-- and always advertising and promoting.

By the time Bert actually exerted control over the company, surely around 1899 after Mary’s death, its reputation and place in the English gun-making fraternity had been seriously eroded. (And Bert not bothering to attend assemblies of English gun-makers probably didn't help - fraternization, even in a cut-throat business, always is a plus. Pretending you are upper-class in Uk when all you have is money is a dead end - ask Harry Gordon Selfridge.*84g

*85 Characterizing the Reilly's:

This study has not looked at the Reilly family except where it effects the business; however, here are some possible characterizations of the Reilly's based on very limited information, much from Sally Nestor, family researcher. (There are two important points to emphasize: It would be hard to overemphasize the prejudice Irish faced in England during this time; nothing, no commercial business success, no royal patronage, could have overcome this. And, none of the London gunmakers at the time, even Purdey, would have been considered "gentlemen." Their livelihood depended on kowtowing to the British aristocracy.)

-- J.C. Reilly comes across as something of an early 19th century, self-absorbed narcissist (this from one possibly extremely prejudiced source) . Yet, he registered a silver mark - not something one can just do without true expertise and apprenticeship, and per John Campbell he was a clock-maker and a member of the "Clockmakers" guild. JC apparently had some serious mechanical skills.

-- He appears to have been rebellious, snarky, egotistical, full of himself, and independent, and probably was a difficult and demanding boss, husband, father. His wife left him, and a couple of his children apparently wanted nothing to do with him.

-- But, he had allies in the gun world, i.e. a relationship with John Blanch from pretty much the time when he first began to build his own guns. a deduction from very limited evidence. (Blanch kept Reilly advertisements from the 1840’s era in his private scrap book. In 1855 EM and Blanch's son William seem to have encouraged each other to tackle pin fire breech loaders.)

-- E.M. Reilly appears to have been an imaginative, far-sighted, organized, ambitious businessman (based on his business record). He also worked with his father from an early age in the gun making business and had extensive hands-on experience in making guns and air guns.

-- He rationalized the Reilly serial numbers, created new trade labels, and advanced new and risky products.
-- He had some excellent political connections in the gun trade - the same group of gun makers appear repeatedly together in the late 1850-early 1860 time period - Prince, Green, Deane, Reilly, Blanch, Manton and a couple of others - and given that he manufactured well in excess of 6,000 Comblain breech loaders (presumably in Birmingham) in the 1860's, he had connections there as well. He had to have had some people skills.
-- He had a talent for recognizing promising new patents and was not afraid to build them to suit or to take technological business risks trying to anticipate market demand.
-- He was definitely a Francophile in an English world where France conjured up the image of a 1000 year old structural enemy. One must wonder if he got his dander up after being snubbed by the Royal Family; he seemed to turn mockingly towards anti-gun-making establishment; giving the proverbial finger to Purdey doesn't win friends.
-- He also at least early on was a practicing Catholic and may have had a chip on his shoulder about this. As late as the 1960's John Le Carre commented in a "Murder with Quality" about this lingering English phenomenon of religious persecution. He dreamed big dreams and the biggest was snagging a contract with Arsenal. One must wonder whether his religion played a part in his inability to obtain this.
-- Paradoxically, by 1843 E.M. Reilly (Reilly, Jnr) had joined the Masonic Lodge. An advertisement in “The Freemason” from 1843 identified him as “Brother Reilly Junr.”*8i The Catholic Church held that any person identifying with or assisting the Freemasons was excommunicated. How Reilly reconciled this conundrum is unknown.
-- He would not have been regarded as a "gentleman" by the English class conscious society; no commercial gun maker was; and definitely not so when he took up with Mary Ann, a 20 year old and had four children out of wedlock. He was a businessman and a trader and though he tried to be royalty respected, he was insulted. He returned the insult by being successful.
-- He was perhaps a bit of a control freak and probably not easy to be around - especially if you were his son. (The Victorian age was not a "huggy-feely" one) (this only from interpreting the wording in his will).

. . . . .The only two known photos of E.M Reilly (from Sally Nestor's posting on ancestry.com) are attached.*85a



-- Edward Montague Reilly his first "son" (reputed) b.1867 probably was the pre-marriage offspring of then 50 year old EM and his then 21 year old future wife Mary. Four sons were born to EM and Mary, all technically out of wedlock; However, only Edward Montague was called a "reputed" son by his father. Edward Montague was an "engineer" and "gun maker" following somewhat in his father's footsteps. He was designated as an executor of EM's will (along with Mary). He apparently later worked on locomotives. He did not seem to have advanced education and one wonders if he were a bit "slow." His father's sneering references to him cannot have improved his psyche. In about 1893 he came down with tuberculosis and ultimately fell from an upper window at 277 Oxford Street in July 1895.

-- Mary Ann Reilly, E.M.'s wife, was a woman operating in a "man's world" after his death. The fact that she apparently ran the company for 9 years from 1890-99 is a testament to her pluckiness. There is not much known about her except by analysis.
-- She was born in 1845. No-one knows who were her parents or her background; family historians speculate that she was E.M.'s cousin. Even her maiden name is not clear - it is either Curtis or "C-o-x." At the age of 20 she seduced a 50 year old successful businessman, ignoring convention. She had 4 sons out of "wedlock" one of which may not have been his; something or someone kept them from formally marrying until the late 1870’s.
-- After EM’S death, in spite of very specifically not being left the "trade books," she apparently took over and ran a large company in Victorian, England. This is something movies are made for - sex, guns, money and power. Her offspring included later Members of Parliament. She died 12 January 1899. She deserves more attention.
-- Yet, under her guidance the company began steadily to contract. She had neither the insight into the gun business nor the connections to keep the company afloat.

. . . . .A photo is attached which possibly shows EM and Mary walking on Oxford Street near 277.*85b