 After the founding John Rigby's death, in 1818, his sons William and John Jason Rigby operated the business as W. & J. Rigby from circa 1820 to 1865, a period that spanned flintlock, percussion, pinfire and needlefire ignition and marked the start of the modern metallic cartridge era.Rigby was a leader in barrel-making and rifling technology and, at the time, it was also recognised for its high grade duelling pistols.