The editorial assistant informed me that the editors deemed the article 'too technical' and hence more suited for a more 'specialised' journal. In general, this is a perfectly understandable explanation—provided, of course, that the statement can be backed up by the journal's track record, consistency, let alone recent publishing history. Even a cursory look through HTR volumes published last five years one may note several much more 'technical' articles, such that the editors' decision not to submit the paper to further peer-review process seems to have been done on a whim and hence unscientific.
