Excellent Stephen and that is a classic slim-line beauty and a historic gun now in good hands. It's amazing how much of the center-break technology started out in France. It's my understanding that Daw's patent 203 from 1861 was a centerfire concept originated by Pottet in France. Pottet's patent for center-fire shells was broken by Eley in 1865 which began the downfall of the pinfire.
Purdey historian Nicholas Harlow was queried about the records of royalty payments for patent 1104 in connection with the Reilly line. The history and the books for Purdey from that time frame, are, according to him, literally "locked up." I don't quite know what that means but am wondering if there is a legal dispute of some sort.
As for the Purdey thumbhole snap release. . .the last extant Reilly so equipped in the database was SN 19951 ...1875.
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/13598/lot/12/![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/74ph8dNl.png)
One assumes that as soon as a superior technology appears, everyone will adopt it. Not so. Choke boring popularized by Greener in 1875 wasn't ubiquitous until the 1880's; ejectors not till the 1890's (and to this day do you really need them?).
